Some time ago, I made a contribution to a Kickstarter campaign - a campaign to get Divinity Original Sin 2 made. And recently, the first fruits of this move have emerged with the beta access being released to backers. This means that backers like myself have access to the first area of the game.
Early impressions create a game that is showing a lot of promise. The character creation is much more diverse with races, more appearance options and, interestingly enough, back stories. The back stories are of particular interest as they can result in certain options being available in the dialogue trees. In addition, certain combinations can result in a fixed character - one that can later appear as a party member in the game itself.
As for the game itself, I'm enjoying it so far. The combat operates in similar fashion to the first Original Sin. I also see that, compared to the first game, a party is built up more quickly with characters who have their own agenda to content with the plans of the player. The settings are beautiful to behold and certainly painstaking in their detail.
Needless to say, I'm keen to see how the finished product turns out...
Monday, September 26, 2016
Wednesday, September 21, 2016
T-20
They say that nostalgia happens in chunks of twenty years. If that is the case, then the nostalgia goggles will be aimed at the the mid-to late nineties - also known as the Fifth Console generation.
I've said it once and I'll say it again: This was a great period for the PC Gamer with them being spoiled for choice with the likes of Baldur's Gate, Doom, Warcraft, Command and Conquer, Deus Ex, Plansescape Torment and System Shock 2 among others. Sure, there was some shlock when Windows 95 rolled around but once that nonsense was sorted out, there were some real games to be found. Sure there were some interesting things happening in the console camp but they have not aged well as their PC counterparts. I remember at the time, console games of this era were being marketed as 'cutting edge' but looking at them now, they have naturally aged the worst.
This in turn presents an interesting opportunity for someone keen on nostalgia: Take a brand, fix some glaring issues with it and you'll have a certified hit. Why do you think so many have been clamoring for a remake of Final Fantasy 7? When you have a hugely successful game you have a hit guaranteed purely on brand recognition - but when you fix some of the problems the critics have pointed out, you win on both a commercial and critical level.
I myself aren't really that interested on nostalgia as, for me, it stifles progress (how can you move forward when you have eyes on the past?). But I will admit, however grudgingly, that there's something to be said for making classic games readily available, accessible without dragging some aging tech out of the deepest corner of the bedroom cupboard and in a state of preservation.
That being said, has anyone tried to resurrect some of the lost classics from the Saturn? Someone must've played the likes of Panzer Dragoon Saga and Shining Force 3 - So surely they must've been hit with inspiration strong enough to make something similar so what they enjoyed two decades ago can be enjoyed by people of the present. If anything, I'd rather play a RPG that involves traveling across on a desolate, post-apocalyptic world with minimal NPCs atop a flying, customisable beast, encountering Moebius-inspired monsters and discovering lost ancient tech than a retread of Advent Children any day....
I've said it once and I'll say it again: This was a great period for the PC Gamer with them being spoiled for choice with the likes of Baldur's Gate, Doom, Warcraft, Command and Conquer, Deus Ex, Plansescape Torment and System Shock 2 among others. Sure, there was some shlock when Windows 95 rolled around but once that nonsense was sorted out, there were some real games to be found. Sure there were some interesting things happening in the console camp but they have not aged well as their PC counterparts. I remember at the time, console games of this era were being marketed as 'cutting edge' but looking at them now, they have naturally aged the worst.
This in turn presents an interesting opportunity for someone keen on nostalgia: Take a brand, fix some glaring issues with it and you'll have a certified hit. Why do you think so many have been clamoring for a remake of Final Fantasy 7? When you have a hugely successful game you have a hit guaranteed purely on brand recognition - but when you fix some of the problems the critics have pointed out, you win on both a commercial and critical level.
I myself aren't really that interested on nostalgia as, for me, it stifles progress (how can you move forward when you have eyes on the past?). But I will admit, however grudgingly, that there's something to be said for making classic games readily available, accessible without dragging some aging tech out of the deepest corner of the bedroom cupboard and in a state of preservation.
That being said, has anyone tried to resurrect some of the lost classics from the Saturn? Someone must've played the likes of Panzer Dragoon Saga and Shining Force 3 - So surely they must've been hit with inspiration strong enough to make something similar so what they enjoyed two decades ago can be enjoyed by people of the present. If anything, I'd rather play a RPG that involves traveling across on a desolate, post-apocalyptic world with minimal NPCs atop a flying, customisable beast, encountering Moebius-inspired monsters and discovering lost ancient tech than a retread of Advent Children any day....
Monday, September 19, 2016
The Magnificent Seventeen
Following on from an earlier post where I was singing the praises of Don Bradman's Cricket 2014, it would therefore be somewhat inevitable that my attention would turn towards it's inevitable successor. It would seem a demo of Don Bradman's Cricket 2017 is available on Steam.
So may as well take a look....
So what the demo is offering is a WIP of the Academy. This time however, there are a lot more options on offer. Any player wanting to build a new cricketer can choose their gender, team role (ie Bowler, Batsman, Wicket Keeper, Opening Batsman) and race. There is a lot more detail in assigning attributes for the player's defined roles. So generally, I've found, in comparison to Don Bradman's Cricket 2014, there's more options and more freedom with building players. Not sure i like the player likeness though. Looks too freaky to me...
With regards to the player lost it seems Red Ant are doing the same thing they did before: provide a list of generic names and invite players to replace them with genuine players. I must admit it's a bit odd seeing the list of generic names again, having grown so used to the shared players from the original Academy. Therefore, I will hold off making new players until the game's released and some familiar faces re-emerge. Apparently there will be some sort of backwards compatibility (just don't quote me on that).
But somehow, this new list looks bigger than that in Don Bradman's Cricket 2014. It makes me wonder if Red Ant payed attention to the creations that wormed their way into the Academy the first time around - and whether they noticed my addition of some local (however not widely known) heroes.
.....probably not, but I can always dream.....
So may as well take a look....
So what the demo is offering is a WIP of the Academy. This time however, there are a lot more options on offer. Any player wanting to build a new cricketer can choose their gender, team role (ie Bowler, Batsman, Wicket Keeper, Opening Batsman) and race. There is a lot more detail in assigning attributes for the player's defined roles. So generally, I've found, in comparison to Don Bradman's Cricket 2014, there's more options and more freedom with building players. Not sure i like the player likeness though. Looks too freaky to me...
With regards to the player lost it seems Red Ant are doing the same thing they did before: provide a list of generic names and invite players to replace them with genuine players. I must admit it's a bit odd seeing the list of generic names again, having grown so used to the shared players from the original Academy. Therefore, I will hold off making new players until the game's released and some familiar faces re-emerge. Apparently there will be some sort of backwards compatibility (just don't quote me on that).
But somehow, this new list looks bigger than that in Don Bradman's Cricket 2014. It makes me wonder if Red Ant payed attention to the creations that wormed their way into the Academy the first time around - and whether they noticed my addition of some local (however not widely known) heroes.
.....probably not, but I can always dream.....
Monday, September 12, 2016
Run Out
Lately I've been playing Don Bradman's Cricket 2014. It's game I started playing some months ago and one that I've been returning to since.
This may seem like an odd choice seeing as I've had little to no interest in sport games over the years. I have played cricket games over the years but none have come across as something special. So why play this one? Firstly it's made by an Australian developer. Secondly, a lot of Don Bradman's Cricket 2014 hinges on the rather cunning way the developers worked around the licensing issues. This takes form of the the Don Bradman Academy where players wanting to include famous teams and current teams are encouraged to create them in the Academy and share them with other players. They even have soundbytes for famous names and nicknames!
As such, this cunning navigation was enough to secure my interest.
Based upon my own experience with Cricket games (ie the primitive One Day Cricket and Graham Gooch cricket on the C64) this incarnation is head and shoulders above them all. The controls are accessible and there's a decent training section. There's a lot of freedom in match customization and never once does the game seem overwhelming to a newcomer and/or someone unfamiliar with cricket. For the first time, for me at least, cricket comes across as being fun to play and never once a slog to get through. In fact, the fact that I keep coming back to this game is proof enough that this game is a bonafide success.
And as for the Academy I had some fun in building up the Tasmanian Best XI (which was announced earlier this year) and seeing them go against the other teams. And hey, where else could you have Charles Eady getting Jack Hobbs out for four runs?
This may seem like an odd choice seeing as I've had little to no interest in sport games over the years. I have played cricket games over the years but none have come across as something special. So why play this one? Firstly it's made by an Australian developer. Secondly, a lot of Don Bradman's Cricket 2014 hinges on the rather cunning way the developers worked around the licensing issues. This takes form of the the Don Bradman Academy where players wanting to include famous teams and current teams are encouraged to create them in the Academy and share them with other players. They even have soundbytes for famous names and nicknames!
As such, this cunning navigation was enough to secure my interest.
Based upon my own experience with Cricket games (ie the primitive One Day Cricket and Graham Gooch cricket on the C64) this incarnation is head and shoulders above them all. The controls are accessible and there's a decent training section. There's a lot of freedom in match customization and never once does the game seem overwhelming to a newcomer and/or someone unfamiliar with cricket. For the first time, for me at least, cricket comes across as being fun to play and never once a slog to get through. In fact, the fact that I keep coming back to this game is proof enough that this game is a bonafide success.
And as for the Academy I had some fun in building up the Tasmanian Best XI (which was announced earlier this year) and seeing them go against the other teams. And hey, where else could you have Charles Eady getting Jack Hobbs out for four runs?
Monday, September 5, 2016
Half a world away
I find a fascination with gaming in the Eighties. History will declare that the decade was defined by the Great Gaming Crash that took Atari under and created an opening for Nintendo to storm in with the NES. Nintendo becomes a big deal and Mario, Link, Samus, Mega Man and Simon Belmont all become icons beyond reproach.
But this scenario, which has been told many times before, is viewed from the perspective of the U.S. - and as they say, history is only told by the winners. Coming from the perspective of someone outside the U.S., a different story is told and the contrast between within the U.S. and without the U.S. is astonishing to say the least.
To begin with, being in Australia, places one riding off the coattails of what was happening in the U.K. and Europe (as is often the case in Australia). If there was anything happening in the U.S. it had little to do with us - which is surprising considering the geographical location of Australia places in between U.S. and Europe. But I digress.
So yes, the choices of we Australians made was a replication of what was happening half a world away. Thus, whilst having a NES was commonplace in the U.S., that wasn't the case in Australia. Indeed, at the time, I remember more people I knew at school had a Master System than a NES and I noticed at the local toy store that the Master System had a more prominent place than the NES (indeed, that's a funny thing to look back on when one considers how things turned out for both Nintendo and Sega). So when the SNES finally showed it's face, there was indeed a sensation comparable to descending down from atop Mount Sinai and a sign that Nintendo suddenly was a big deal. Hard to imagine I know, right?
But the true victor in the Eighties gaming arms race in Australia was neither Sega or Nintendo. Nope: It was Commodore. I've lost count on how many people had a Commodore 64 when they were young and/or knew what one was. They were more commonplace than a NES or a Master System and many people point to it as being a starting point towards their interest in computers. And, much like the U.K., the Commodore 64 had a long and fruitful life in Australia that lasted well into the 16bit era.
This, in turn, would seem strange to the those in the U.S. as we in Australia (and the U.K.) had our own gaming culture develop separately. Whereas they had a rivalry between Sega and Nintendo, we Commodore 64 users had our own mortal enemies with the Spectrum users. When they were exchanging password codes, we were applying cheat codes. When they had Mario, Link and Samus, we had Armakuni, Turrican and Rockford.
Funny thing how cultures develop independent of each other. Naturally you wouldn't have that now when everyone and everything is linked online but looking at the same era from two different perspectives is an eye-opener to say the least.
But this scenario, which has been told many times before, is viewed from the perspective of the U.S. - and as they say, history is only told by the winners. Coming from the perspective of someone outside the U.S., a different story is told and the contrast between within the U.S. and without the U.S. is astonishing to say the least.
To begin with, being in Australia, places one riding off the coattails of what was happening in the U.K. and Europe (as is often the case in Australia). If there was anything happening in the U.S. it had little to do with us - which is surprising considering the geographical location of Australia places in between U.S. and Europe. But I digress.
So yes, the choices of we Australians made was a replication of what was happening half a world away. Thus, whilst having a NES was commonplace in the U.S., that wasn't the case in Australia. Indeed, at the time, I remember more people I knew at school had a Master System than a NES and I noticed at the local toy store that the Master System had a more prominent place than the NES (indeed, that's a funny thing to look back on when one considers how things turned out for both Nintendo and Sega). So when the SNES finally showed it's face, there was indeed a sensation comparable to descending down from atop Mount Sinai and a sign that Nintendo suddenly was a big deal. Hard to imagine I know, right?
But the true victor in the Eighties gaming arms race in Australia was neither Sega or Nintendo. Nope: It was Commodore. I've lost count on how many people had a Commodore 64 when they were young and/or knew what one was. They were more commonplace than a NES or a Master System and many people point to it as being a starting point towards their interest in computers. And, much like the U.K., the Commodore 64 had a long and fruitful life in Australia that lasted well into the 16bit era.
This, in turn, would seem strange to the those in the U.S. as we in Australia (and the U.K.) had our own gaming culture develop separately. Whereas they had a rivalry between Sega and Nintendo, we Commodore 64 users had our own mortal enemies with the Spectrum users. When they were exchanging password codes, we were applying cheat codes. When they had Mario, Link and Samus, we had Armakuni, Turrican and Rockford.
Funny thing how cultures develop independent of each other. Naturally you wouldn't have that now when everyone and everything is linked online but looking at the same era from two different perspectives is an eye-opener to say the least.
Friday, September 2, 2016
25 + 25 = 50
Recently I've been having a crack at Star Trek: 25th Anniversary Edition.
It seems fitting that I do so seeing as it this year marks the 50th anniversary of Star Trek. And I'm acknowledging this milestone by playing a game that bears the words 25th Anniversary in it's title. Go fig.
So far, I have mixed feelings about this game. When I started playing this, I was really excited to do so: A game based around a series of adventures that play out like a lost season of the original series! A reunion of the original voice cast! (including, notably, DeForest Kelley's final performance of Dr. McCoy) A chance for the Original Series to do something beyond the confines of a TV budget!
Yet whilst all of the above are well and truly on offer, some problems are arising that I can't ignore. I don't like the ship combat, the puzzles aren't really that hard and the scoring system is odd - why it would seem that to garner a 100% success of a mission, Kirk needs to say the correct things. But such things make him out of character: Thus Kirk ends up acting less like his impulsive self and more like Picard.
Still this is only the beginning: It would be interesting to see what happens from this point on....
It seems fitting that I do so seeing as it this year marks the 50th anniversary of Star Trek. And I'm acknowledging this milestone by playing a game that bears the words 25th Anniversary in it's title. Go fig.
So far, I have mixed feelings about this game. When I started playing this, I was really excited to do so: A game based around a series of adventures that play out like a lost season of the original series! A reunion of the original voice cast! (including, notably, DeForest Kelley's final performance of Dr. McCoy) A chance for the Original Series to do something beyond the confines of a TV budget!
Yet whilst all of the above are well and truly on offer, some problems are arising that I can't ignore. I don't like the ship combat, the puzzles aren't really that hard and the scoring system is odd - why it would seem that to garner a 100% success of a mission, Kirk needs to say the correct things. But such things make him out of character: Thus Kirk ends up acting less like his impulsive self and more like Picard.
Still this is only the beginning: It would be interesting to see what happens from this point on....
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