Gratuitous Tank Battles, the spiritual successor to Gratuitous Space Battles, has finally been released! I had the opportunity to preview GTB during it’s Beta stages and was pleasantly surprised by the amount of features and strategic depth it contains. This is a Tower Defense game unlike most others that not only allows to take control of the defensive structures, but the attacking forces as well. The campaign itself gives players the chance to play for either side. There are numerous custom maps available as well. Building units from the ground up gives the player a much more engrossing experience and is a welcome addition to the genre. If that wasn’t enough Gratuitous Tank Battles also comes with it’s own in-game level editor. The editor is easy to use and allows players to share their custom maps with other GTB players, essentially extending long-term and replay value.
At the moment, Gratuitous Tank Battles is only available for PC users but I suspect that a Mac version should be available in the not-so-distant future. Be sure to keep an eye on Positech Games for any updates and info regarding GTB’s release on other platforms.
GTB is on sale right now through Steam but you can also buy the full stand alone version of the game through the Gratuitous Tank Battles website where you’ll also get a free Steam key included with your purchase. For those who prefer one of these other digital distribution sites, you can purchase GTB through GamersGate and Impulse as well.
If you’ve played Space Invaders, or remember any of the titles from the plethora of clones that have been released since the original, then you’ll quickly come to understand how Voxeliens plays. It’s an old fashioned “shmup” that delivers the classic feel, but more importantly, the fun of the original games of the genre. Of course, this isn’t a simple rehash as Voxeliens is a Space Invaders clone with a twist.
Shmups, or Shoot’em Ups, are more popularly known for their 2D graphics that favor either a horizontal or vertical playing field. Voxeliens does things a little different by bringing the gameplay of Space Invaders to the realm of 3D, utilizing cube-like voxels (volumetric pixels) for graphics. Not content with simply making another Space Invaders clone, the developers at Volumes Of Fun have created a Space Invader clone for the current generation. Instead of only moving from left to right, the player may also move forward or backward into the foreground or background. It’s a little unusual at first considering the genre isn’t commonly played in this way, but it works well and isn’t very difficult to pick up or get into.
The game plays simply, utilizing the ‘WASD’ keys for player movement, and the mouse for shooting and camera controls. The sensitivity of the camera controls are a little jarring at first but casual and veteran gamers alike should be able to ease into the setup with little trouble. The controls overall are tight though, and this is important because each stage is filled with terrain that also acts like a bit of an obstacle course. This makes for an interesting balance in gameplay because you not only have to pay attention to your enemies, but also the layout of each level. For the most part the terrain is destructible and some of the landscape can act as a shield from enemy fire or it might just impede your ability to fire upon the enemy. No matter what, it’s important to keep your eyes on the screen at all times since the difficulty level does increase with every new stage that is completed. The icing on the cake is that their are a handful of neat weapon power-ups that work very well against the invading Voxelien forces. The effect of these bonus weapons is only temporary though which helps add to the tension of the gameplay a bit.
The graphics and sound are retro… plain and simple. The voxel graphics work well to give the full effect of a 3D Shoot’em Up. The enemies look like your generic aliens from any number of Space Invader clones, only they’re more three dimensional. The terrain of the levels however, look great and provide a varied arrangement of stages. The music is nothing to write home about but that’s because it’s reminiscent of the classic Space Invaders music, so it does get the job done. Meanwhile, the sound fx are exactly what you’d expect – just your simple blaster sounds taken straight from what could be your Atari 2600, Amiga, Commodore 64, or Apple ][+.
Conclusion: Voxeliens does Space Invaders in 3D very well. I haven’t yet found another 3D style clone of the original that has been done so well. Voxeliens is fun, easy to get into, and tough to master. The first few levels aren’t that difficult, but the challenge does ramp up and gives gamers a good excuse to go compete for the highest score. There’s not much I can criticize about the core gameplay there is one thing missing from the game and that is an online leaderboard. I still appreciate having local scoreboards so that I can compete against friends and family, but in an age of the internet it would be nice to see the scores that other players are racking up.
Voxeliens is available for Windows with a Linux version coming soon. You can try out the free demo of Voxeliens, but if you’re a fan of Shmups or Space Invaders then you should just go and buy the game immediately. It’s being sold for the amazingly low price of $3.99US, so you simply can’t go wrong. Be sure to check out the Voxelienswebsite!
Here’s a Top-Down 2D Stealth / Action game you should add to your list of games to buy this month. Dynamite Jack has arrived on PC, Mac, and Linux and can be purchased directly from the developers website or through Steam! Dynamite Jack was developed by Phil Hassey. You might have heard of another popular indie game which he also developed a few years ago called Galcon, which was a fast paced real time space conquest / strategy game.
I’m a sucker for this type of game and can’t wait to try it out. I love the classic vibe I get from the trailer. The big bonus for gamers is that Dynamite Jack is regularly priced at $4.99 which includes a DRM free copy of the game when you purchase it from the Dynamite Jackwebsite but it also includes a Steam code for those gamers who prefer their service. You can also pick up the game right now for 20% off through Steam during this first week of release. So what are you waiting for? Get gaming!
Jason Rohrer, if you didn’t know, is an indie game developer. His name may not be well known or even heard of, unless you’re a part of the indie game development community or an avid indie gaming fan. In the realm of indie games and indie development though, he’s actually very popular. In terms of public relations, media, and mainstream popularity, he’s largely unheard of. The average gamer wouldn’t know about Jason Rohrer or the fact that he’s developed eight games over the past several years. His games are unique, but they also offer uncommon and entertaining experiences that go just beyond the boundaries of what your typical videogame does. Jason has currently got a Kickstarter fund going for his latest game development titled ‘Diamond Trust of London’ which he would like to release on the Nintendo DS. This is an ambitious project for a small indie game developer, but it is entirely possible and with the help of the gaming community and general public Jason’s latest game might become the next big indie success story.
What you might not know is that Jason Rohrer is one of the more creative, innovative, experimental, and one of those “think-outside-the-box” developers who actually finishes developing his games so that they are playable. I have seen and played many indie games and many of these also include experimental games, some of which are very good or a little inventive, and then others that simply weren’t so good. Unfortunately, the majority of these games either aren’t finished, or simply don’t feel like they’re finished.
Jason, on the other hand, is somewhat talented and skilled in that his games not only feel like they are finished products, but they also feel like they are thoughtful or thought provoking experiences. Although Jason doesn’t necessarily re-invent the wheel, he does take the wheel for a spin and turns his games into a road trip.
Most of Jason’s games are small and inconspicuous concoctions of interactive entertainment. Games such as Passage, which is probably one of the tiniest games, in both file size and actual gameplay length, that I’ve played in the past half decade. Passage is also arguably, one of the most powerful and poignant works of interactive art you can find on your personal computer.
Another of Rohrer’s imaginative games titled Sleep is Death, allowed two players to play the same game from opposite perspectives. One person would be the “director” of the games developments, while the other person would take more of the role of the player. Sleep is Death allowed for a more “on-the-fly” co-operative gaming experience that could be shaped or drastically changed based on the creativity or imagination of the participants involved.
The more recently released Inside a Star Filled Sky which followed the more familiar gaming formula of a twin stick shooter also plays a bit like Robotron meets flOw. Even that would be too simple though. Things become increasingly more interesting when Inside a Star-Filled Sky provides an infinite number of levels which are also levels within other levels. The game and gameplay comes together as a sort of living organism within itself and I believe this is partially the intended affect.
Be sure to check out all of Jason’s website where you’ll find links to all of his interesting and unique games. If you’d like to help an indie developer who actually succeeds at making games that are truly different from the mainstream industry, then be sure to check out the Kickstarter fund. You’ll find the Diamond Trust of London Kickstarter page located right over here.
Let me start by saying that FFRacer is one of the more cleverly designed games I’ve come across in a long time. It’s part high velocity racing game, part FMV (Full Motion Video) game, and a pinch of train driving simulator game. It’s a weird mash of characteristics and style for a video game. On paper, something like this shouldn’t work, in fact, it most likely wouldn’t work. However, the developer of FFRacer has found a way to actually make it work. Not only is it functional, but it’s also pretty fun, even to watch someone play. I know this because my kids love playing and watching me play as well. The experience isn’t perfect, it may even be a little awkward at first, but the gameplay is exhilarating and the scenery and background of the Norwegian landscape in this FMV game is beautiful.
I’ve been a fan of FMV games ever since they came out. That’s a tough thing to admit, given that for the most part, FMV games usually suck. It was a genre that was doomed to fail from the get go. There were a handful of somewhat popular titles. Games such as Night Trap, Sewer Shark, Mad Dog McCree, or the god-awful Johnny Mnemonic. The history of FMV games is a short lived and slightly sad one. Some gamers might tell you that successful FMV games did in fact exist. Those gamers might even try to convince you that games like Wing Commander III and IV, Under A Killing Moon, The Pandora Directive, and Phantasmagoria are great examples of FMV games. The fact is, none of the latter games mentioned were FMV games. Yes, they did feature FMV in the game, but the gameplay itself was not comprised entirely of Full Motion Video. The cutscenes and interludes were FMV, but the gameplay itself was not.
FFRacer probably includes the most ingenious use of FMV in a video game to date. The gameplay is straight forward and intuitive for the most part and the objective is simple. Take your train from point A to point B in the fastest amount of time possible while carefully steering the train through curves, bends, and turns. FFRacer is comprised of 17 sections or tracks that make up one full length train ride – in fast forward video. You don’t have complete control over the train. In fact, you can’t really control the train at all. You simply need to ‘guide’ the train along the set track while it’s moving at speeds of over 100 – 300 Kilometers per hour. For the most part, the game is on rails, but the illusion and sensation of speed is convincing and entertaining.
The controls are pretty basic. Use the Arrow keys to gently ‘steer’ the train through every bend and turn without letting the train crash or hit the rails. There are no real crashes or derailments, instead the train loses speed and momentum every time it hits the side of the rails or crashes because the player hasn’t coasted with each turn in the track. It’s kind of hard to explain, and the best way to understand it is to actually play it and feel it for yourself. Besides just turning and bending with each curve using the left and right arrow keys, players must increase the speed of the train by holding the up arrow or slow down the train using the down arrow.
Lastly, it’s important to memorize sections of track, because you’ll most likely be playing these tracks a few times before you’ll actually be able to set a fast enough record in order to unlock the next section of track. With 17 sections of track to play through that’s quite a bit of gameplay and the scenery of each is enough to re-visit each section numerous times. Every time you crash you lose precious speed which you’ll need to steadily increase if you really want to unlock the next playable section of track. It’s difficult at first but the experience quickly becomes manageable. Within 30 minutes of playing I found my track records improving progressively.
There’s not much to say about the graphics since they are basically FMV graphics. It’s real-life footage, it’s very detailed and there’s only a minor HUD overlay that shows your speed and time, but it does the trick. The important thing is that it looks great and provides that insane sense of speed that we could only wish to experience in real life. All of the FMV footage is taken from the Bergensbanen documentary, which not many people outside of Norway will be very familiar with. The documentary itself is a 7 and a half hour long video, “showing every minute of the scenic train ride between Bergen on the Norwegian west coast, crossing the mountains to the capital of Oslo.” When shown at speeds of 100+ kilometers per hour this train ride lasts less than a quarter of that time but it still just as scenic to look at.
The audio involves numerous techno tracks that are subtle enough and suitably match the illusion of speed within the game. The only other sounds are the whirring of the train increasing in speed and the bumps heard from veering off the track, so to speak.
Conclusion:
Without knowing much about FFRacer the actual gameplay might seem a little inconspicuous. Don’t let that little detail fool you though. It is a fun game made up of simple pleasure. I did mention that it’s not perfect, since the current version that is available doesn’t really come with any set of instructions. This isn’t a very big deal since the controls are simple, but not knowing the times that you need to beat in order to unlock the next section of track is a fairly big omission. I basically had to play the first track over and over to find out exactly what the time was that I had to beat in order to open up the second leg of this 17 track journey. I think this can be easily remedied though in future versions or updates. Perhaps by displaying the time that needs to be beaten before selecting the track or by displaying the required time in one of the corners of the screen.
FFRacer really impressed me with it’s simplicity and the great sense of speed which I know is just an illusion, but a very good one at that. The 17 track game is quite large and could provide hours of gameplay, especially for those gamers who are parenting little ones that enjoy watching them play games. There is a fully playable demo available which includes the first 3 tracks in the game. The demo provides more than enough game to convince gamers whether or not this is the type of experience they’d be interested in purchasing. The full version is being sold for $10 dollars through the FFRacer website. Personally I think it’s well worth the price, if for no other reason than that FFRacer is probably the most clever and best all-around FMV game I’ve ever played.
The game is only available on PC right now but be sure to try the demo out and then buy the game directly through the FFRacer website by going here!
Note: The demo is about 1 GB while the full game is just over 3.5 GBs big.
Here’s a great game that I completely forgot to do a write-up on and should have done about a month or so ago. I haven’t finished the game, nor have I put in enough hours to give it a proper review quite yet, but I did get a chance to play Manor of the Damned for over an hour and a half last night and I was totally engrossed in the story and gameplay.
Developed by The Hideout, Rijn the Specpyre in… Manor of the Damned, which is available for PC, Mac, and Linux, is a retro action game with RPG ‘lite’ elements. It has the look and feel of a classic JRPG minus the turn based battle system, but it is not a simple clone of those relics that we loved so much when we were younger. The most obvious comparisons for Manor of the Damned would be to the classic Zelda series on the NES and SNES. However, the game also takes several cues from other popular top-down action/adventure/rpg’s such as Y’s, Dungeon Explorer, Neutopia, Legend of Mana, Soul Blazer, and even Blood Omen: Legacy of Kain.
For such a seemingly small indie game, the story and back story are quite grand. When I say small, I’m referring to the file size, not the length of the game. The game plays and feels like many of those epic, or what seemed like epic, titles from the SNES and Genesis era. The gameplay itself is just as straight forward as any of the classics that I mentioned above.
You’ll spend most of your time hacking and slashing your way through enemies when you’re not exploring or conversing with the NPC’s. You start the game off with a sword, but you’ll quickly acquire new weapons and other items that will help you on your quest. The main character can equip one weapon in each hand and can use either one based on the situation, all without having to go back into your inventory to equip a different weapon. This means that, for the most part, there are very few breaks in the action allowing gamers to progress and explore the game further with few interruptions. If all of that wasn’t enough, the environments are semi-destructible and littered with numerous secret pathways and hidden tunnels for you to discover and explore.
The graphics and sound look and feel like they belong on a cartridge for your favorite classic console of choice. Although I expected the graphics to be very 16-bit retro grade based on the trailer for Manor of the Damned, I was pleasantly surprised by the soundtrack, which is very well done I might add. The tunes go well with the setting and the action. Nostalgia does play a small part in appreciating all of the little things that have gone into the game, but there is more than enough action and gameplay to merit the attention of any gamer who enjoys a good game.
Rijn the Specpyre in… Manor of the Damned will set you back a mere $6 dollars. That’s very cheap considering the quality of gameplay. It looks and feels the way it is supposed to, like a retro action/adventure/rpg. Even though I’ve only played the game for a little under two hours, I could easily recommend buying the game based on what I’ve played so far and for it’s great price, but for those who might still be unsure there is a demo available for you to try before you buy. You can buy or download the demo for Rijn the Specpyre in… Manor of the Damned from Desura.
