I’m Fighting Tooth & Nail
As with Omen and Hemloch, the art in T&N:F is quite nice.
Back in August, I talked about a pair of exciting two-player card duelers from Small Box Games — Hemloch and Omen: A Reign of War — and mentioned that I would be reviewing their newest game, Tooth & Nail: Factions, as well. And then, total silence.
What a mystery! Find out why this writeup has taken me so long below the jump.
Dishonored: A Review by Comparisons
Empress Jessamine Kaldwin and her daughter Emily look out over Dunwall.
I’m going to put this right out there: Playing Dishonored over the last week has been one of the most gratifying gaming experiences in recent memory. So much so that I’ve been all but ignoring the new XCOM game (also good), and plenty of other games that are excellent in their own rights, and haven’t regretted their absence in the slightest. This is in part because it feels so fresh, so new, so vibrant, and in part because it’s also been an exercise in nostalgia.
When it comes to reviews, I’m not usually a fan of game-to-game comparisons. For one, they seem like a weak approach to explaining a game’s appeal (or lack thereof), since the comparison often comes at the expense of any actual expression. For another, too often the threads of connection are tenuous and frayed, or to a game I haven’t had the pleasure of experiencing, or, perhaps, to one that I didn’t comprehend the merit of. So let me assure you that I have tried very, very hard to figure out a way to talk about Dishonored without at least mentioning the games that it is emulating, copying, or bettering. Tried and failed.
See, in an industry filled with grinning suits and safe bets and a well-entrenched hype engine, Dishonored feels like a fulfilled promise, or at least a reasonable attempt at one. So let’s talk about its heritage. Not its exact heritage, since I’m not a professional at this, but the heritage that was on my mind as I skulked from one end of the half-mystical city of Dunwall to the other.
XCOM: Sentinels of Earth, Part 1
The Super Sentinels deploy outside the diner.
For this game diary, I’ll be playing XCOM: Enemy Unknown on Impossible difficulty with Iron Man mode enabled — so if I make a mistake, that’s it, no do-overs. Wish the Sentinels luck!
Top Brass weren’t so sure about putting together such an ethnically diverse squad, but alien invasions have a way of bringing people together. After some initial distrust and petty squabbling, our heroes picked up a few harsh but fair life lessons and engaged in a few alcohol-lubricated fraternizing and bar scuffles, and have now earned the trust and affection necessary to watch each others’ backs. They call themselves the Sentinels, largely because they dislike being called XCOMmers.
Let’s Do This, Politics: Strategery 2012
Aw, you might almost believe they’re buds.
As I write this, there’s a political cottage meeting taking place next door. It’s about some local stuff that’s been balkanizing our typically-serene and friendly suburban neighborhood into factional compartments locked in an arms race to get up the most “Vote Yes” or “Vote No” posters. It’s a real shame, especially since both sides are motivated out of a desire to preserve our little corner of the valley that we live in, and I suspect that the divisions created these last few months will last years beyond the actual upcoming vote. I was invited, though somewhat grudgingly, and failed to attend due to a bout of ambivalence.
And then, something happy happened. Frustrated — by this local kerfuffle, by the noise around yesterday’s presidential debate, by et cetera —, I decided to get even more frustrated by playing a game that looked like it was going to be more fuel on the already-unwelcome fire.
You know what? I’ll be damned if it didn’t help. I’m feeling right as rain. Thanks, Strategery 2012: Right Makes Might. You rock.
It’s Good to Be a Mage Knight, Day Two
Tovak returns to the little monastery.
Alright, now where were we? Ah, right, so last time Goldyx and Tovak, Mage Knights both, spent a day and a night conquering a path across the countryside, bringing down warbands of orcs and fortified strongholds with equal ease. I’ve told you that they’re the ones that brought our Red City’s corrupt penny-squeezers to heel, and in only three days too. Well, I reckon I’ll tell you about their second day. It’s the one that some folks like to jaw about when they say the Mage Knights aren’t so heroic as we’ve been told, but don’t let anyone hear you talk like that. And anyway, it’s true that they did some pillaging and burning, but there’s a reason for all that.
The Space-Biff! Birthday Contest Results!
Staggering talent.
In our Space-Biff! birthday contest, we saw some pretty good suggestions about what people would give Space-Biff! for its first birthday, and congrats to our five winners! They’ll be receiving a shiny new key for Metro 2033 in their inboxes soon.
This means it’s time for the second phase of our contest. This will determine who gets a copy of the board game Infiltration from Fantasy Flight Games! Read on to see our five winning items, and vote for whichever strikes you as the most creative answer!
Once You Go Black (Mesa)
So faithful, they even worked in the lambda.
This is going to be biased.
I went into Black Mesa with a heaping dose of skepticism, because mocking up a few nostalgic screenshots seems like one of those things that anyone can do, though when I say “anyone” I’m referring to lots of people other than me. How could a mod team recreate one of gaming’s most seminal moments? How could a pack of amateurs capture the terror of the Blast Pit, the pacing nightmare of Apprehension, or, crud, even the slow-burn tram-ride intro?
Well, they did it. Mostly. It’s thirteen of Half-Life’s seventeen chapters (the rest are coming later, presumably), recast into a completely free mod that anyone can play — again, for free — so long as you’re willing to peruse some download links and install Steam. For free.
Celebrate Space-Biff! with a Contest!
Happy first birthday, Space-Biff! Who’s brought a present?
Well, here we are, one year on. Our baby sure has grown up—almost a hundred articles, about fifteen comments, and as of last week, six followers! Thanks so much to those of you without whom it couldn’t have happened. You know who you are. Also, some of you did absolutely nothing to help, and you know who you are as well. Meanies.
All is forgiven, because we’re here to celebrate Space-Biff! surviving for one year! The next challenge is to make it to two. So to inaugurate the new year, let’s have a little contest! Strap in, because this is going to be convoluted.
Pardon the Intrusion 2
Riding a wolf into battle against evil!
Look, I’m going to drop any pretension of objectivity here. I love Intrusion 2, a brilliantly fun little romp from Aleksey Abramenko, author of Intrusion 1 (I assume). And I’m going to tell you why, in a sonnet:
I Am Alive. Am I Satisfied?
The unnamed survivor, about to be surprised by the game title.
You might recognize I Am Alive as that game that came out on consoles and was withheld on PC and when PC gamers complained the developer accused them of “bitching” and then suddenly it was announced that it would be released on PC and then even more suddenly it was out a week before its release date. Or you might not. Either way, what a wild, wild ride. But does the game itself live up to its insane and wonderful origin story? Find out below.
