Holy Cats. Fourteen, no wait… FIFTEEN Steam games for $1.99 over at IndieGala for the next 24 hours ONLY? Insane, but it’s got BUY ME written all over it, folks. You’ll get a nice mix of genres from roguelike RPG to fast-paced action, a slice or three of horror and even the unique photo album game Retention about a guy who has a bike accident and is flipping through the pages of his memory as he lies on the ground awaiting help. Well, I guess that’s better than slipping in the shower as far as accidents go. Ouch. This one’s worth a play because the developers say it only takes about eleven minutes to play. Eight endings give it replay value, so I guess that’s about 90 minutes total if you go for all four good and bad endings, correct?
Anyway, go get your deal and shut yourself in for the weekend. It’s going to be terrifyingly cold in some spots from what I’m seeing…
Haunting my inbox was an invite from Agnieszka Szostak to check out a brief demo of Goetia, a point and click mystery adventure game from French indie developer Sushee. The game is currently half funded on Kickstarter with about 21 days to go, a good sign for a game of this type. The demo clocks in at about an hour of play and shows off a game well worth keeping an eye on.
In the game, you’ll play as Abigail Blackwood,or more precisely, the ghost of Abigail Blackwood. She rises from her grave one gloomy evening and after realizing she’s no longer among the living, also discovers that there’s a mystery to be solved at her family’s seemingly abandoned manor nearby. While the demo takes place entirely in the mansion and it’s grounds, Sushee says the final build will have a lot more ground to cover. The cool thing is, it’s entirely up to players as to how to proceed thanks to Abby’s ghostly, spherical form. As a ghost, she can travel through some walls and floors as well as interact with and manipulate objects in order to solve puzzles and progress through an even deeper mystery.
Some areas are blocked off by mysterious runes that require knowledge of how to dispel, so Abby will need to scour every nook and cranny for clues. The object manipulation is actually really cool, as it allow Abby to “be” an item for as long as you wish to float it around the screen. Solving some puzzles involves multiple steps of manipulation, but the interface only has three icon-based actions to deal with.
Abby can look, use or inhabit certain items and combining these skills (plus some careful reading of found documents) is key to success. The game is also reminiscent of the hugely popular “hidden object” genre that has far too many titles to count. Goetia requires a bit more grey matter activation, as there’s a nice layer of complexity to figuring some things out. Combine that with an open environment and you have the makings of an instant genre classic.
Visually, the game is quite lovely in a simple non-system hog manner reminiscent of classic side-scrolling PC point and click games from the 90’s. That said, the use of lighting and parallax scrolling are brilliantly implemented, giving the game a nice sense of realism. As Abby is just a sphere-shaped spirit, you’re not going to be seeing her girlish figure animating anything but the objects she possesses. So, if you’re looking at this for the potential of playing as a hidden statue, candlestick or other otherwise inanimate object, go on ahead and dive into that demo with relish.
If you’re still rocking a system that runs Windows XP, fear not. There’s a 32-bit demo you can play that’s exactly the same. This is a smart move by Sushee because believe it or not, plenty of people still use that well-aged OS. I’m also sure part of the target audience for a game like this skews older enough to not be spending rent money on keeping up with the latest gaming rig setups.
All kidding aside, Goetia’s story is compelling in the manner it rolls out, enveloping you in a multi-layered mystery that so far, makes for a game worth funding and/or buying outright once it’s completed. Here’s what to expect in the final version:
A 2D world of Victorian mystery.
Over 90 rooms to explore.
Five vast and diverse areas to discover – Blackwood Manor is surrounded by ruins, woods, caves and an abandoned village.
A progressive-rock and ambient-inspired soundtrack.
Use your ability to walk through walls in order to reach secret rooms and areas.
Possess objects like a poltergeist to lift them, use them, combine them, make them float in the air, pile them up… well, you’re a ghost after all, behave like one!
Solve puzzles in more than one way by discovering hidden rooms and special features, such as new ghostly powers.
Delve into Blackwood’s story: 40 years have passed, and many things have changed since Abigail’s death.
Feel free to explore! You can travel through the world of Goetia however you like – and if you get stuck, simply backtrack and explore another area.
Goetia is set for an October release on PC and Mac. As for other platforms, let’s just say “who knows”, but the controls certainly make it seem like it’s going to be a very mobile-friendly port for those of you who prefer your games a bit more portable.
Are you a BIG Adventure Time fan with an artistic bent? Well, Little Orbit wants you! Or more precisely, they want your artwork! The publisher is running a contest where one lucky winner will have his or her character design used in the next Adventure Time videogame coming to consoles and PC. When? Well, I dunno, but the contest only runs for a short time (as in NOW until February 17, 2015).
The rules are simple (and below the jump) and if you win, you’ll be able to brag all over the internet and deal with people trying to bash your dreams into powdered atoms because that’s what they do these days. Yeah, well… just avoid the deathtrap spiral that comes from commenting to every dope who wants to rain on your day and you’ll do fine. Contest info and links below the jump. Go do some finger-stretches or whatever it is artists do before drawing, read on and go win big!
Amusing “warning”: If you don’t speak Japanese, this video will seem somewhat baffling for about the first two minutes and fifty-three seconds. However, those of you who happen to be fans of Sandlot’s awesome Earth Defense Force series of games will get your jaws hitting your shoes hard before you burst out laughing and nodding in approval.
The upcoming PlayStation 4 game Earth Defense Force 4.1: The Shadow of New Despair is shaping up to be a must-have title thanks to the developer not only porting the main game over intact, but adding loads of new content, enemies and vehicles. That Depth Crawler you see at around 2:55 is the best thing to happen to the series because it allows for the ultimate in mobility in the game’s deadly tunnel missions AND it works excellently in outdoor maps.
Additionally, longtime EDF fans will see that there’s no longer static lighting in those tunnels, meaning visibility will be practically zero without some sort of light source. Thankfully, that Depth Crawler has lights (and packs some nice firepower). Hopefully, this means going in on foot if one chooses will show your character or teammates all sporting lights on their armor. The game isn’t out until April 2, 2915 in Japan and no U.S. localization plans have been announced.
That said, one would hope that some smart publisher who owns the rights would be on the case worldwide for this one. I smell a surprise hit that thanks to all the improvements and new content just might be one of the better games. New bosses, more missions, improved visuals, what’s looking like a more stable frame rate? Yup, all of those are making EDF 4.1 a must buy when it finally ships. The Japanese version is compatible with any PS4, although expect to be lurking around GameFaqs if you need help navigating the menus and learning some strategies if you’re new to the EDF experience.
You know something folks? I just absolutely love that I can fall asleep every night knowing that The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt is going to be one of 2015’s best games on anything it appears on. CD Projekt RED is going to get plenty of people hot under the collar and a few other places for all the right reasons when this game finally gets into the hands of eager gamers on May 19, 2015. In case you’ve been wondering why this one’s so late, the delay is so the dev team can squash any nasty bugs that would stop players from fully enjoying the experience. They could more than likely ship the game sooner and patch it up over time. However, given the troubles plaguing other AAA games from last year that did just that (you know who you are), I’m betting CDPR wants to avoid the wrath of fans complaining them to death on message boards worldwide. Good for them for wanting to get it all right, I say…
It’s a Monday, it’s freezing outside and there’s going to be a ton of snow on the ground in some spots that will keep you indoors wishing you had the whole rest of the week off and then some. What to do, what to do? Well, if IndieGala has their merry way with some of you, you’ll be sitting in front of a warm PC playing some cheap games. Or at least ONE cheap game, as Words for Evil from this week’s Every Monday Bundle is FREE as a bird. Check it out below:
The rest of the games in this weeks deal ($1.49 for six games!) are certainly eclectic as you’ll soon see. Also, if you poke at the IndieGala store page, you can get another free game just because they really want you to shop there at some point and find even more deals. Sounds like a plan, if you ask me. Alrighty then – go do what you need to do. Me, I’m going to build a fire somewhere warm and cook the first thing that crosses my path…
Well, well… the MacVenture series is back and in fine nostalgic form, this time as a set of Steam digital downloads. While you can buy each of these four classics for $2.99 a pop, it’s best to go whole hog and bag the bundle for $8.99. For that price, you get the original Macintosh 128k black and white and Apple IIGS 4-bit color versions of the MacVenture Series: Uninvited, Shadowgate, Deja Vu and Deja Vu II: Lost In Las Vegas. Yes, they will run on current Macs (of course!) and any PC that’s using Windows 7 or above.
Even better, since Zojoi Games is happy to get these classics back out in the fresh air, there’s s 20% launch discount on Steam ($2.39 each, $7.19 four pack bundle) until February 2, 2015. Yeah, so now you can’t say you have nothing to do because you’re snowed in with nothing but the cat to look at. Leave that pet on the bookshelf and go play with something a lot more entertaining…
Wait, who’s still got an arcade near them? And I don’t mean a mascot character “pizza” chain (yuk!) or a psuedo-pub grub hub with over-sized tablets posing as arcade games. All kidding aside, as soon as I saw that Star Wars: Battle Pod trailer above, I got a hearty laugh because it’s pretty much a far better-looking version of Namco’s classic 1991 arcade game Star Blade. Given the relatively short length of the experience, the specialized cabinet and its unique screen that allows for flawless immersion, the chances of seeing a home version of this game would normally be zero. On the other hand, with VR technology finally getting some sort of roll out within the next year or so, I could see this as some sort of pack-in or downloadable digital game to keep Star Wars fans happy.
In other words, it’s your move, Bandai Namco… Um, let the Wookie win?
Fans of classic 90’s console RPGs should drop everything (as in, NOW) and grab Eden Industries’ Citizens of Earth for anything they can play it on. The game perfectly captures the spirit of the classic Super Nintendo game Earthbound while adding elements such as a more open world to explore 30+ party members to recruit and too many puns to keep track of. Not everything is flawless, however. A few typos, accumulated loading times and one pesky navigation glitch sometimes kick the good bits in the good bits. Nevertheless, this is one of those fun and funny games that can suck you in for hours at a time. Atlus wisely rescuing this failed crowd-funded game project and saw fit to publish it for a few platforms.
In the game, You’re the Vice President of the World (!) and things are somewhat screwy in the post-election phase. Angry protesters are outside your home, there’s trouble at the local coffee shop and lots more wildness that requires your VP skills. You’ll need to round up and recruit citizens from all walks of life to aid you in your quest, so expect to meet up with a wide cast of odd and amusing party members as the game progresses. This isn’t any sort of emotional powerhouse storyline at all, so going in expecting weep-inducing cut scenes or “powerful” moments is a fool’s errand. On the other hand, if you like pun-heavy puns, goofy-looking enemies and creative uses of coffee, pastry and pharmaceuticals, you’ll love what’s here and then some… Continue reading →
While I personally haven’t taken much advantage of Club Nintendo rewards other than to nab a few downloads, the end of a relatively brief era is approaching as Nintendo winds the program down in favor of a new (and to be announced) loyalty system. Six years may be dog years in terms of the internet, but as usual, Japan got the best goodies while North America’s rewards were more along the acceptable to “Hey, that’s REALLY awesome!” set of points for stuff “freebies”.
That said, I’ll take what the company says about killing off the club and replacing it with something newer and shinier at face value as well as claim my free copy of Flipnote Studio 3D in February 2015. It’s too bad that freebie isn’t Wii U compatible, though. I could see a lot of people who don’t use a 3DS or even a 3DS XL because of the screen size maybe wanting to try out the image creation software and play around with it on a bigger screen. Ah well. RIP, Club Nintendo!
"DESTROY ALL FANBOYS!" 