Author Archives: Dan Thurot
Engage the Flick Drives!
A spaceman ponders the mysteries of the wide universe.
There’s this game I’ve owned for a long time, Ascending Empires from Z-Man Games. It’s a great game, and I’ve known that since the day I bought it, but it only made it to the table twice. This summer we started having friends over for game nights a lot more often, and as a result, I’ve been playing it regularly—and it’s rocketed onto my Best Board Games Ever list. Why? Not only because it’s a good game (I already said it is), but because it makes me feel pathetically fantastically hilariously inept.
A New(b) Zero
A battle rages over and around the AI island in A New Zero.
Some days I wake up in a curmudgeonly mood, indignantly refusing to play anything newer than the original Far Cry or some Sega 32X classics. Thank goodness that on the most recent of those days (Monday), I got a helping hand from SB! bros-in-arms Digital Pariah and Alikchi, who tossed a smelly potato sack over my head and hauled me off to a remote location to try out A New Zero, a fascinating game-in-progress from Cryptic Sea. The curmudgeon inside me was temporarily contained by its joyous recipe, milled from recognizable influences into something interesting and yummy.
Some Thoughts on Indie Game: The Movie
The sneakers-from-a-wire of our generation.
I intentionally avoided reading much about Indie Game: The Movie, though what little I heard was enough to establish two things: one, that it wasn’t, as I originally assumed, a satire or spoof; and two, that I had a healthy fascination with the subject matter. After much hype, it’s been released to the common public through Steam. I’ve now seen it. Some thoughts below.
What Max Payne 3 Got Wrong
Max Payne, pondering life choices.
Alright, time to whine! On Wednesday, I talked about the things Max Payne 3 does well. It nails most of the fundamentals, and makes for a very satisfying cinematic shooter—though for some reason, it often feels more like it’s channeling Max Payne than being Max Payne. While I’m having a hard time identifying exactly why I’m not as pleased with MP3 as with its predecessor (I’m talking MP2 here), I’ve outlined some ideas below.
Not-So-Humble Indie Bundle
7 days left to get possibly the best indie bundle I’ve ever seen.
I’m supposed to be finishing up a complainy article on Max Payne 3, but that’s just going to have to get pushed back to tomorrow, because this news is a time-bomb—a piñata time-bomb, filled with delicious joy and the good candies—like Arcor fruit candies, and no Necco Wafers in sight.
It’s the fifth Humble Indie Bundle, and it would behoove you to check it out and give them some money. You can pay basically any amount to get four incredible games, or pay above the average (about eight bucks) to get eight awesome indie games that will amaze and astound you. Five soundtracks (two of which I know personally to be fantastic) are included, and you get to choose (via sliders—everyone loves sliders!) how much of your contribution goes to the developers, the Humble Bundle site itself (for maintenance and such), and to two great charities—The Electronic Frontier Foundation is a non-profit group that works to defend digital rights, and the well-known Child’s Play has probably helped out a children’s hospital near you (if in doubt, you can take a gander at their map). If that sounds great, get to it: you have seven days left to be a part of this great bundle.
No reason to read beyond this unless you want a brief introduction to the games on display.
What Max Payne 3 Got Right
Max Payne, about to jump into action.
I doubt there’s any reason for me to jot this down—chances are you’ve already read everything you need or want to about Rockstar’s latest take on everyone’s favorite lugubrious detective. Still, I have a fond niche carved into my stony heart for Max Payne (the second ranks as one of my ten favorite games of all time), so although I suspect this will be superfluous, I’m just gonna write it anyway.
The Curious Incident of the Tyrrhenian Steamer
A steamer, carrying Count Dracula among its cargo, embarked from Genoa.
Well, everyone knows Count Dracula died at Borgo Pass. What Fury of Dracula presupposes is: Maybe he didn’t?
The riddle of the vampire’s reappearance was not the one plaguing our heroes tonight, however. Rather, they (Lord Godalming, Dr. Seward, Professor Van Helsing, and Mina Harker) were preoccupied with a mystery of an algebraic nature: If a steamship sets sail from Genoa, fixes the setting sun to starboard, and ends its voyage into the Tyrrhenian after but a short distance, where but Cagliari, Naples, and Rome could its passengers have disembarked?
(Not) Just Another Brick in the Wall
A correctly-oriented screenshot from Against the Wall.
One of the primary strengths of videogames is their ability to make hypothetical worlds come alive. In the case of Against the Wall, an indie game in alpha by Michael Consoli, the world is an infinite vertical wall, made of interlocking bricks. All life—plants, humans… monsters?… well, no monsters that I encountered—cling to the side of this unforgiving plane. Against the Wall is far from finished, but it’s already shaping up to be a prime example of the experimentation, wonder, and fun that are often the hallmarks of the indie scene.
The Incredible Exposition of Alan Wake, Ep 4
A cardboard cutout of Alan Wake, gazing into your soul.
The last time I talked about Alan Wake, I mentioned a few of its more brilliant plot points from the first three episodes. Well, I’m still hooked, and I recently finished the game’s fourth episode. I must warn that there are spoilers to come, as episode 4 is entitled “The Truth,” and boy, what an apt name to call it by. So if you don’t mind this great game being spoiled, I’d like to talk about its gentle handling of exposition.
Jumping into Endless Space
Space, of the endless variety. You can even click this image to make the space appear more endless.
It’s usually a matter of policy for me to refuse to read impressions or reviews of games that I’m going to talk about in order to remain pure and unsullied by the opinions of others. In the case of Endless Space, due this summer from Amplitude Studios, I played neglectful mother and left that prohibition back at the supermarket. I can now think of three possible intros, none of them mine, and all of them quite good. The only solution, it seems, is to play it straight and tell you that Endless Space is looking great.
SPACE-BIFF! 