Most of the games I've bothered to purchase have been excellent to the point that they have somewhat eased my concerns about video game writing and development and the stagnancy therein. There's still a lot to be done in order to save what I view to be an overly generic creative trend for popular AAA titles in recent years, but I digress. There's a case of writer's block to be broken.
So, what is it that I have been up to since the start of 2013 you may ask? Well, lots of things really, but I have run through several multi platform games on my PC in the past several months that are worth mentioning. Heck, most of them were entirely worth reviewing, but rather than go back and slog through individual reviews, I can offer a little summary review of the titles I have been playing in the order I played them.
1) Far Cry 3
I spent quite a few hours exploring the island scenery in Far Cry 3 at the end of 2012, and I stuck with the game into the early weeks of 2013. That alone is a testament to the overall longevity of the game's single player campaign. However, the game left me feeling a bit conflicted, and mostly in agreement with a lot of the Internet buzz surrounding it.
The campaign missions and the story fell a little flat after what I would call the 60% completion mark where you travel to the second island. After wrapping up some of the events on the first island, the game felt empty, and somewhat devoid of purpose. Liberating enemy bases which is a staple requirement for opening up island events, was by far the most interesting and satisfying part of the single player campaign, but mission events felt a little too forced and linear for my liking. That was surprising given that the island environment provides for so many open sandbox opportunities outside of regular missions.
I didn't bother playing the online multiplayer since I used my Xbox 360 gamepad to play the campaign on my PC. Adjusting to keyboard and mouse controls to be competitive online seemed like a hassle. Plus, multiplayer looked like a tacked on, derivative FPS attempt rather than an earnest endeavor to introduce unique multiplayer combat.
Perhaps the most disappointing part about the game is the lack of replay value after the main story is completed. There are a slue of challenge opportunities and treasure hunting objectives to explore in order to complete the game 100%, but I didn't really feel like there was a reason to continue. Maybe it's just me.
2) Spec Ops: The Line
I waited to play this game for quite a long time, and after seeing it drop down to the bargain price of $4.99 on Amazon I could resist no longer. Spec Ops: The Line (SO:TL hereafter) does some very interesting things with storytelling that I hadn't really considered possible for a video game until now. There are definitely still some cliche character archetypes being used here, but the pacing of the story was spot on, and the whole thing seemed pretty plausible as long as you can ignore a few plot holes here and there.
I will admit that I haven't finished this game yet, but I like to break it up into chunks of play time for several reasons. First and foremost is that once I really start to enjoy a game, I don't want it to be over. I have done this for years, and the only draw back is that is has led me to restart many games repeatedly because I forget where the story last left off.
The second, and perhaps more unfortunate reason, is that SO:TL's gameplay can be a bit frustrating at points. It's not a matter of difficulty in most situations, but the lack of a clear cut objective or proper course of action that plagues some of the game's more intense action sequences. Some segments lead to unfair deaths that could be prevented by better game design. Still, Spec Ops: The Line is one roller coaster ride that I was happy to get on.
I put these two together because I purchased both on a Steam sale, and I haven't really taken the time to dig into either title much since. Sine Mora is a side scrolling airplane/submarine shooter with some interesting gameplay elements. Rather than follow the standard "shoot bad guys, avoid environmental obstacles" formula, Sine Mora takes one from the old Time Crisis handbook and gives you a countdown timer that will run out more quickly if enemies damage your umm.......airplaine/submarine craft.
Killing enemies adds time in small increments, and upgrades to your vehicle's weapon systems will appear onscreen. The story is secondary to the action, which is completely fine in this case. I literally ignored 90% of the dialogue/subtitles with this game and focused on not getting my butt shot off during most play sessions. What appeals to me most about this game is that it gets things completely right in terms of difficulty. Players are punished for mistakes, but the respawn system is mostly forgiving. It's a source of good, quick fun.
I still admire the amount of polish that the combat system shows given the fact that it is an indie game, but I had half expected it to feel a little more like an old school action RPG from the Super Nintendo glory days with more graphical fidelity. Still, it deserves some props for accomplishing as much as it has in today's market.
4) Tomb Raider (2013)
What can I say about this game? I thought the reboot was fantastic, and it was a truly enjoyable experience from start to finish. Crystal Dynamics took the smartest possible approach to rebooting one of the most definitive action platforming franchises of all time, but some people will always complain that the new Tomb Raider is too different from its forbears. They claim that there isn't enough focus on puzzle solving which has been replaced by an increased emphasis on action, but lets be completely honest. I don't think anyone wanted this game to go the other direction in the first place.
When the Tomb Raider franchise was first launched in the 90s, video games were in a very different place. Environmental puzzle solving was more about showcasing the introduction of 3D platforming than it was about developing characters or crafting compelling story arcs. Controls were clunky at best, and character interaction was sparse. Sure, the original Tomb Raider had a story, but it was nowhere as involved as what consumers expect from games today.
Once people understand that this is a different Tomb Raider that hasn't completely forgotten its roots, things will get a whole lot better for this franchise. That being said, I was hooked into this game from the time the opening cinematic played all the way to the end. Heck, I have even started my second play through shortly after finishing it the first time.
Another thing that bothers me about Tomb Raider's reception is the number of people who keep comparing it to Uncharted. Sure, the fundamentals are similar, but Tomb Raider is a very different game both tonally and in terms of overall environmental navigation. Don't get me wrong, I love Uncharted, but Naughty Dog's games are built to feel like cinematic experiences. Characters interact in real time as they banter and poke fun at each other. Tomb Raider puts more focus on trying to make players empathize with Lara as she stumbles painfully through the world the game throws at her. There is nothing light hearted about Lara's adventures, and she is mostly alone which makes players feel like they are constantly trying to survive.
I digress, however, this won't turn into another Tomb Raider blog rant. Let's move on to what is next.
5) Euro Truck Simulator 2
This is like the zen game of the century for me, and I was completely surprised at how much I really enjoy ETS 2. The game is wonderfully simple while being complicated enough to keep me engaged at the same time, but it's something that I can only play in spurts. To make a long story short, ETS 2 is a sim game about being a semi truck driver in Europe. I know it sounds boring, and it may not be for everyone, but there are some interesting mechanics going on here.
It's a slow driving game on the surface, but there are quite a few RPG like elements going on as well. I won't go into much depth about it since I'm not writing a full review, but ETS 2 can take a bit of thinking and planning if you want to make your experience feel a bit more fulfilling. The game does have its flaws. AI controlled vehicles can be really stupid at times, and traffic patterns don't always pull off very realistic simulations, but that's all minor stuff.
The control system is a little complicated as well, and it's not really clear what the best way to play would be. Some might consider getting a racing wheel, but then there are so many secondary functions mapped to the keyboard that I don't know if there would be enough buttons to do so. I personally use a combination of an Xbox 360 controller and the keyboard. It makes playing a little clumsy, but I don't use some of the controls anyway.
Still, what I love most about this game is that I can sit down, accept a long distance job, and just get lost in the game hauling my cargo from point A to point B. Some trips can take up to an hour to complete, so it's incredibly easy to sink time into building your bank roll. Then, after you buy your first truck, the game really opens up. You then have the ability to hire other drivers and build a successful trucking business. Again, it isn't for everyone, but I have been having a blast so far.
6) ARMA 3 (Alpha)
OK. I pretty much got suckered into this one. Last August, a couple of my PC gamer friends talked me into getting ARMA 2 and the expansions so I could get online and play the DayZ mod with them. I never really got into it as much as they did, but I did play ARMA 2 quite a bit, and I realized how difficult and rewarding this military sim could be. Months passed, and I played less and less until I started watching YouTube videos of others playing multiplayer missions like "Wasteland" for ARMA 2, and my interest was piqued once again.
Still, none of my PC friends would play anything but DayZ, and I lost interest again. Then, once it was announced that the ARMA 3 Alpha was being released, my friends started geeking out about how awesome it would be and how we could play online together and so on. The prospect of playing online with others again was too exciting to ignore, and I downloaded the Alpha so we could connect once more.
Can you guess what happened? I am once again stuck being the only one playing ARMA 3 while my friends have gotten sucked back into DayZ. Don't get me wrong, I love DayZ, but I'm not very good at it. I don't like to spend day after day memorizing the maps and scraping up loot only to be killed by random players and have to start over again. I can only take it in small doses.
ARMA 3 seems like a fine game, but the only single player content missions available are the showcase assignments. Multiplayer is open, but the game's optimization is still not where it needs to be, so technical issues abound. It's getting better, and I'm sure the end product will be just as great as previous installments. I just need better online friends.
Closing Comments
Well, there you have it. Things have slowed down a bit since we started the blog, but I'm still around doing what I do. G4F will not likely become a full fledged website as originally planned. I also don't expect that reviews will ever come as frequently as they originally did as I am no longer interested in purely doing reviews. I will post content more frequently, but it will mostly be editorials or random comments on industry news as opposed to review content. I will also attempt to get back into producing video content for the blog.
I think my blog partner will be largely absent from this point forward, but if you follow G4F on Facebook, you will see updated article postings there. Things have mostly cooled down on the console front, but with The Last of Us coming in June, I will most likely HAVE to write a review for that game. Keep looking for more stuff from G4F, and as usual, stay frosty!
~Krimmit
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