It seems Humble Bundle is starting to step up their big bundle schedule. I just got an e-mail about two bundles at once. One is an android bundle with a few notable titles, namely The Room (You're tearing me APART!). Metal Slug 3 is nice and all, but NOT on the Android. While I was very surprised about how competent some touch only controls have gotten in games like Dead Space Mobile, I really wish this Android bundle had been like the last one and offered PC versions of all these games, at least all the ones that have SEEN PC versions anyway. I seem to recall a PC version of the Metal Slug games some time ago when that game "rental" service for PC was still a thing (I forget what it was called). All in all though, worth a few dollars to me.
The next one is another THQ bundle. I could take or leave the Red Faction stuff here. I really never much cared about that series. However, it includes BOTH Darksiders games. Just getting Darksiders 2 for around $7 makes it more than worth it, which is basically why I bought it, as I already got the first Darksiders with the first THQ bundle. Now that Humble Bundle gives individual Steam keys for each separate game in the bundle instead of one for the whole group, I have an extra code for Darksiders 1 to give out now.
Ready? What do you call it when a game is changed by the developers so it is harmed (by dedicated fan reckoning) in order to have a wider "mass market" appeal?
I know that some here aren't fans of the Penny Arcade comic (and today's offering seems like a case lesson in exactly why, I really don't get it).
That said, Penny Arcade Report http://penny-arcade.com/report/ is some of the best game news reporting I've seen in a loooong time.
I've been abandoning one "gaming news" site after another as, one by one, they all lose all sense of journalistic integrity. IGN has long since been in the gutter, and sites like 1Up have followed them. I tried Joystiq and Kotaku for a while, but both of those are pretty poor these days. Until now, I've basically been limited to a few out of the way fan forums and Arstechnica's gaming news if I wanted something resembling actual journalism.
It seems that sites like Kotaku and such have been letting go of their talented journalists as they have "restructured to actualize modern commerce paradigms" (ie, sell out). Penny Arcade picked them up and set them to work on some the best news reporting I've seen in gaming.
(Note: I'm making this thread because I recently beat Rolling Thunder 3, so I'd like to write a full review for it.)
Rolling Thunder is a side-scrolling action series from Namco. The game feels like a slow-paced run&gun inspired by Elevator Action, but I think any Rolling Thunder game is far better than anything from that in my opinion slightly boring series. This game, Rolling Thunder 3, isn't quite as good as its forbears, but it's still a good game. I should start with the first game, though, for those who don't know it.
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Rolling Thunder (NES) title screen
The first Rolling Thunder was a true classic. The game is a modern spy-movie type game, inspired by James Bond and the like, and you play as special agent "Albatross" who has to slaughter his way through an army of evil cultists as he tries to rescue his female partner "Leila". So yes, it's a rescue-the-girl game. The cultists all wear hoods. You have limited ammo, and if you run out are in deep trouble, so conserve, and only shoot when you have to. Rolling Thunder is a strategic shooter, essentially. You need to duck, jump, or jump between platform levels to avoid fire, while shooting precisely to take out the enemies. Some doors (see the Elevator Action element above) have weapon recharges in them, or rarely health ups. You have eight hit points, but getting hit takes away half of it, and getting shot pretty much kills you, so watch out. Die and it's back to the last checkpoint. It's unforgiving, and a bit slow paced as you carefully edge forward and take out the enemies, but it's a fantastic game. I first played it back in the '90s in the arcades, and while I couldn't get very far, I liked the game a lot. The game also has a pretty good NES port which adds in a badly needed password save system. It was released on other platforms as well.
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Rolling Thunder 2 (Genesis) gameplay
I didn't play either sequel until the last decade, but the second game was released in arcades and on the Genesis, and it's a fantastic game. It lets you play as either Albatross or Leila, adds bosses to the series, is just as hard as the original, and has a two player co-op mode, which is great to have. The third and last one here, which this review is for, was released for the Genesis only. This is the only console-exclusive game in the series. Overall though it's a great series, and I wish that it'd come back; make a new (still side scrolling of course) digital-download Rolling Thunder game, Namco! It'd be great.
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Rolling Thunder 3 Title Screen
Now, on to Rolling Thunder 3. This time you play as Jay, another special agent for the same group as Albatross, and you're out to beat the evil villain Dread and destroy his sinister organization. Your mission apparently is happening at the same time as Rolling Thunder 2, which is why Albatross and Leila are unavailable. There's also a woman who is the usual female voice in your ear character; as I said above you can play as her with a password, but she has no story, just the levels, and plays identically to Jay (though that I would expect; Albatross and Leila played the same in the second game, too).
Overall, while Rolling Thunder 3 is a good game, I think that it's disappointing and the worst of the three games for multiple reasons. First, the game is easier than either previous title. On Normal difficulty the final boss of this game is very challenging, but the rest of the game before that really isn't so bad, once you spend a little time memorizing it. Second, the great co-op mode from the second game is gone for no reason. And on that note, by default, and in the story, you only play as a male agent again this time; there is a female one to play as, but only through a special password, and she has no story. It's better than nothing though. The game also gives you a special weapon in each level (except for level 9), which might sound good, but really it's maybe a bit too much much firepower for a game that is supposed to be more about thought and careful action than it is about running around guns-a-blazing. Rolling Thunder 3 also has less interesting level designs than the previous titles, except for the final bosses' final form easier bosses than Rolling Thunder 2 (the first one didn't have bosses, remember), However, the game does have mostly great gameplay, the diagonal firing ability is great and was a very welcome addition, despite the flaws the game is plenty of fun if you're a fan of the series, it's is the only Rolling Thunder game with actual cutscenes between levels that tell a continuing, if generic, spy action movie plot, and it has some decent and varied graphics and sound too, so anyone who likes this series at all should definitely play Rolling Thunder 3. Just don't expect it to be as good as the previous two games.
As the list above suggests, the most important thing to know about Rolling Thunder 3 is that it's a consolized game. The story scenes between levels, changing locations, simpler level designs, heavier weapons in your arsenal, and more all add up to simplifying and consolizing the series. The special weapons are emblematic of that change, I think. You can choose from nine different weapons before each stage, or you can choose to not take one with you, and if you choose a weapon before a level, you can't use it again in the rest of the game, unless it appears in a door as a pickup. So, you need to conserve your weapon choices, and have the right one left for the final level, for instance (I recommend the Bazooka!). It's an interesting mechanic, but the special weapons in general aren't needed, and give you a feeling of power that doesn't really fit with the Rolling Thunder series' theme. A bazooka, in Rolling Thunder? Really? Sure, the weapons have limited ammo and you are rewarded a bit for not taking one, as you can then use any for the final stage and also you do have a knife weapon if you don't have a special weapon equipped (it does two bullets worth of damage per hit) and also if you go into a special weapon ammo refill room without one you'll instead get healed (or have 1 added hit point added, if you have full health), and that's great. Really, I think this game is the most fun when played without special weapons, except for that bazooka to help against the final boss. Take them if you want, but they're not needed.
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An early level in Rolling Thunder 3
In terms of length and level designs, the game isn't any longer than the first two games; on the contrary, thanks to its lower difficulty level, it's shorter, and even without that, it's not that long. Rolling Thunder 3 has ten levels, three of which are somewhat short special stages, and most of the rest are straightforward. When compared to the previous games, and the first game particularly, in terms of level designs and weapons Rolling Thunder 3 tries to make things simpler and more actioney. Level designs here are not as complex as they often were in the first game. Levels just go to the right, or occasionally up or down a single screen at set points. There are no large areas multiple screens tall for you to go through, as the first game had from the beginning. Don't expect anything like that big staircase in the first level of Rolling Thunder, either. That's disappointing. There aren't even interesting set-pieces like the sections with all those tires in Rolling Thunder 1! There are some nice scenes to be sure, like that one time that enemies jump at you from a helicopter, or the explosive gas tanks, but those are in the first two levels,... and then nothing like either one happens again for the rest of the game. Yeah, this game is like that. That level with the gas tanks you can blow up also has a very bland design; it's mostly just walking to the right and shooting, simple as that. The later levels get harder, and there are almost always two platform levels later on, but the game just doesn't have those unique level design challenges like the ones that fill the first game from the first level on. No, Namco, having every level take place in a different place, often with a different set of (similar) enemies, doesn't excuse how bland the levels are once you take off the new paint jobs.
This game has many fewer doors than the previous games, too, so when you see a door, there's an odds-on chance that something is actually behind it. The level designs this time really are too simple and bland. Most of the time you're just on a one or two level sideways path. The only variation is in the environment -- and this game has many, as befitting its action-movie theme, as every level has a new setting -- and in which areas have that second level of platforms and which don't. While playing this game it's easy to forget this problem, as the game is fun and simple, but play this and then the first or second ones, and the problem becomes apparent. There was plenty of imagination here in the settings, but not much in the level designs.
Compounding that issue are the three special stages, which are levels 3, 6, and 9. In the first one you are on a motorcycle, the second on a jetski, and the last in a hijacked airplane. The first two are isometric, not side-scrolling, and they're simple but fun. Don't expect much challenge, but they are entertaining diversions. That airplane level is a real pain, though. You aren't allowed a special weapon in this level, and there are no alternate levels of play either; it's just one long flat floor. There's no way to hide here. As a result it's somewhat frustrating, and doesn't feel like something with any place in a Rolling Thunder game, either. At least the level isn't too long; still, use the knife a lot, or you'll run out of bullets. Learning that is the key to the stage.
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Scene from the intro
There are some good things about Rolling Thunder 3, though. Most obviously, as I said above, this is still Rolling Thunder at its core. They put in too much actioney stuff, but the Rolling Thunder core is still here, and it's a lot of fun. First, that diagonal firing ability is just great to have. It's no replacement for the co-op mode in the second game, but still, it makes things more fun in single player mode, for sure. Also, the game may be easier than the first two games, but there is an unlockable Hard mode you get after you beat the game the first time, and given how crazy-difficult the first two games get, making a somewhat easier Rolling Thunder game isn't all bad. I mean, I can actually beat this one... it's satisfying to finish a game. Also, that final boss was a fun challenge. Sure, it took me dozens of tries, several days, and innumerable replays of the final level (yes, I got pretty good at it) before I finally got past him, but once I did it was quite satisfying. I only wish that the game had more unpredictable challenges like that one, but it doesn't; the first three bosses, and the first form of the final boss, have basic patterns that should be easy to learn. Either that, or you can just beat them by moving in and attacking until they lose, it varies from boss to boss. Still, at least the final form was hard.
Also, the levels which are more traditionally Rolling Thunder in style, like levels 8 and 10, are both moderately challenging, and are quite fun to try to master. At first they seem tough, and level 10's boss is, but other than that, with practice I learned how to get through them without too much trouble. Memorization is of course key, but that's par for the course in this kind of game, and I don't mind it. It's unfortunate that the game takes so long to get good, and that the levels stay bland in layout and design, but at least they do manage to get more fun as you go along even if the floor layouts never match the original title. And finally, the graphics are nice, the music is good, and the story, if simplistic and generic, is solid for the genre. The ending is fitting for the genre as well. I only wish that the female character had an ending, but ah well. I like that they added cutscenes to the game; they're decently done, and don't go on for too long.
Overall, Rolling Thunder 3 is a very good game that I quite enjoyed playing through. I'll probably come back to it and try it at least partway through on the Hard mode, too. However, it's just not nearly as good as either of its predecessors, and overall, as a Rolling Thunder game it's a moderate disappointment. Still, it's sad that the series ended with this game; it's a great series, and deserved to continue. Ah well, at least there were three good games. Overall, definitely play this game, but consider it an intro to Rolling Thunder, and move on to its superior predecessors after spending some time with it. I'm not sure what score I'd give this game, it's honestly hard... a B or C something, but beyond that it's tough. On the one hand it's fairly good as a standalone game, but on the other hand, it's a moderately disappointing as a sequel. That makes it tough to precisely score. Anyway though, overall, Rolling Thunder 3 is a good, but not great, game. I liked it a lot, but I would have liked it even more if it'd been more like the original.
Sim City is BACK and now simulates running a city better than ever before! Nonsensical restrictions, lack of funding, the entire city coming to a complete standstill due to worldwide crisis, it has everything a governor could expect!
$2 million, that is. Yeah, it's off to an astounding start. It's the fastest to $1 million ever for a Kickstarter, and it's the fastest first few days for any game on Kickstarter, too. Very impressive stuff. I wasn't too surprised that it started well, but the sheer speed of funding has been amazing. Most of the tiers with limits have already sold out; I missed out on the $95 collectors' edition tier, because those thousand had sold out already by the afternoon, but I did reserve one at the higher $110 tier... though those have sold out now too. It's a pretty nice collectors' edition offer, though, with a physical artbook, soundtrack CD, and more included. They also have a basic box (no limit on sales) at $65.
As for the game, it is, as the name suggests, a spiritual sequel to Planescape: Torment, that inXile is just starting work on. So yeah, it won't have Chris Avellone, but it will have other good people, including the guy who originally created the Planescape setting, several of the top designers on PS:T, and more. The setting is unique -- it's a far-future Earth (I think it's Earth anyway, at least theoretically) where there have been many previous civilizations which have all fallen, transcended, or what have you. The resulting world is medieval, but it's a science fantasy world, which is different. I probably like high fantasy more overall myself, but some variety is nice, and the setting certainly is different.
The story sounds like it'll have some ideas similar to the original, in that it focuses on one person's (your characters') life and worth, but it'll be a new story with new themes. You will be able to choose your gender this time though, though otherwise the character is preset, as in the original game. (Of course The Nameless One's story is complete, so this story is new, but that much should be obvious for anyone who played the original.) Oh yeah, and the concept art is absolutely outstanding... go to the Kickstarter page and look at it! Project Eternity's concept art (from the original kickstarter stuff) is juvenile scribbles in comparison, pretty much...
The astoundingly fast start is pretty awesome, though. Of course PS:T is well known as one of the best games ever, and it's my and many other peoples' choice for best RPG ever, but still, this was not guaranteed, considering that inXile hasn't published any traditional RPGs yet, some people questioned why they needed a new kickstarter before Wasteland 2 even released (the reason: because designers finish their work on a game first, and the designers are done with Wasteland 2, so either they have to start on a new project, or be fired), and such, but the start proved the doubters wrong, that's for sure. Now all they have to do is make a game that lives up to the hype, and funding level. I hope it happens. (Current projected completion date, December 2014... if it doesn't slip.)
Oh yeah, the very well thought through reward tiers probably helped push up the numbers at first, too. Now they're running into the problem that lots of tiers have sales limits and those limits are all running out, which might hurt the total as more people have to settle for smaller numbers (unless they add more higher-value options too, which they haven't done so far), but even so, it was well thought through and reasonable. No $100+ for the first boxed copy here, unlike stuff like Dreamfall Chapters or Double Fine Adventure, it's a much more reasonable $65. Sure, that's more than Wasteland 2's $50, but it's a decent number, and it's the same as Project Eternity's first boxed tier.
War for the Overworld [RTS god game] - Mentioned some stuff about units and locations.
Wasteland 2 [Brian Fargo's isometric, post-apocalyptic RPG] - Released gameplay footage and detailed camera, UI, and keyword dialog system.
Xenonauts [TBS in the style of XCOM] - Entering final beta.
Yogventures [Open-world sandbox] - Pre-alpha released in January.
I'll try to keep this updated on a somewhat regular basis, but it's not always easy because some project don't post updates for non-backers and other post updates that are either too generalized or too specific to warrant mention. This post is just for general information and referencing, I'll post more detailed stuff in the thread itself.
I'm still trying to round out my classic DOS collection with full versions. Software Creations Ltd went defunct years ago, so I can't find anyone offering Hexxagon for sale. The shareware is still out there, and a bunch of flash versions of the game, but flash is fleeting. I'm also looking for One Must Fall 2097. Supposedly it was released as freeware some time ago, but it is hard to find as well on any official channels. It was an early Epic Megagames game, and I'm also looking for a number of their games, if anyone has some leads.
I'll add more links as I find or remember them. Fortunately, a lot of games are still available in one form or another. Most of them are cheap, but Operation: Inner Space is still being sold full price. Supposedly it still works on Windows 7. It was a very fun "open ended" overhead space shooter that used your file structure and icon files to generate levels. Unfortunately, the company that owns it now does everything but make games, and they seem set on just keeping those rights and listing that game on their site for the original asking price, even charging extra for addon packs. Maybe someday I'll cough up the cash, but really I hope GOG is willing to convince them they'll make more money putting it there and charging far less.
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