PixelJunk Shooter- PS Vita Preview

PixelJunk Shooter is the fourth installment of the PixelJunk series developed by Q-Games. PixelJunk Shooter rethinks the twin stick shooter in multiple ways. Like Square Off, the game is more of a side scroller but still acts as a twin stick shooter using the right stick to shoot and the left to control your subterranean vehicle. PixelJunk Shooter also contains a lot more puzzles and exploration than shooting actual enemies but still has its fair share of intense moments.

The goal is to collect all the scientists in each small section of the map.  You also need to make sure to explore each section to obtain as many diamonds as you can which can be pretty difficult to find. You collect diamonds and scientists with a homing grapple hand and each level will be filled with enemies and various obstacles. Playing through the first area and part of the second, I was able to encounter quite a few interesting puzzles and sections that require a good amount of timing and patience. Whether you are using water to cool down lava and exploding it or getting lava to explode flammable gas, you are going to have to make sure you cleared the area of enemies as well as scientists. Killing enough scientists will end the game and force you to redo the section. Other than cooling down lava, water can be used to cool your vehicle down so you can shoot more homing rockets as well as shoot this rockets almost infinitely. If you become overheated through lava or a missile, you can save yourself by going into water which is really nice but the opportunity to save yourself doesn’t happen often.  The ice area will have you melt ice with lava and you can even replace your missiles with a lava shooter. As cool as it is, it is very dangerous if you shoot straight up because you will die immediately. There are sections when it is necessary to take out lava on the ceilings which is kinda tedious.

Thank you TGN!

I was also able to encounter a spider like boss that had multiple stages to it.  First you would have to shoot missile launchers on its back and then you had to shoot its face. while it spawns enemies that crawl on land masses that get pretty close to you. The boss took me quite a few tries but I managed to take it down to get to the ice area.

I played the PS Vita version and it travels very well. Sections are small enough to complete on a bus ride and it is free for Playstation Plus members. I plan on playing more of it because I am interested to see how much more variation to the puzzles they have created.

 

Why I Love and Hate Hotline Miami

Dennaton Games’ Hotline Miami is perhaps one of the greatest games to come out of the Game Maker engine. It combines the twitch reflexes of twin stick games and combines an intense layer of rogue-like stealth. When you die, it’s your fault and the consequences are very minimalistic. Each level takes less than three minutes but it will take you a lot longer than that. The premise is interesting and makes you feel like a gangster with something that resembles a heart. The graphics fit that 80’s Miami Vice look and the soundtrack compliments it perfectly. The limited ammunition for guns make sense and having them has their ups and downs. The game is over the top gory and red pixels never looked so good. That tiny window of peace between missions is like finding a save room in Resident Evil. As soon as you walk out that door it’s go time!

If you haven’t figured out why I love and respect Hotline Miami than you should reread the first paragraph. There is a reason this indie game became a cult classic but there are a few reasons why I really can’t stand this game. I’m sure a lot of it has to do with my lack of skill, but I can’t help but notice details in the game that make me want to range quit because the game feels like it cheated on me. For starters, I understand that this is a top down video game but as I put myself in the role of the player I have to wonder if my mask is obscuring my vision or if I need a pair of glasses because I should totally be able to see that dog or two guys with guns across the hall.  I understand that I am supposed to learn the first time, but there are cases where these goons are patrolling and my timing is not always the same. Being able to zoom the camera out would have helped greatly and seeing how the world outside the building is already barren, I already know it isn’t detailed. Perhaps this edition would have made the game too easy and was somewhere on the drawing board but giving the player the option to do so would be nice. Even taking the option out on a hard difficulty would have been nice.

Another thing I hate about this game is the super human AI. If you shoot your gun at someone you better be prepared. Funneling guards through a door works but not always. Locking on is the best way to kill enemies with a gun but the lock on doesn’t work to well with multiple bad guys. Even when you think you have your gun aimed directly at the door way, that AI will probably see you first. I’m sure there are huge stealth fans that love this edition but I don’t care for stealth in games. It’s strange why I even gave Hotline Miami a chance in that regards. Either way, the doesn’t feel human when the rest of the game does.  I’d play a different game if I wanted to fight supernatural creature or robots but in a game that aims to feel realistic, this crazy AI breaks my immersion.

With all that being said, I still need to finish my play through of Hotline Miami but boy do I suck at it. I am pretty excited to see what Hotline Miami 2: Wrong Number brings to the table in terms of advancing the gameplay. So I ask you, what games do you love but hate with a fiery passion? Think about all those games you play but make you want to throw the controller out the window or smash your keyboard because it’s frustrating or hard.

 

Discussion: What Makes a Good Remake?

I’m not going to lie to you folks, but this post was intended to be an Alien Breed: Review but, sadly, my First Impressions, piece practically sums up my review.  The game is just that short and the additional levels aren’t anything special or drastically different from what I played. I’ll add a little review summary to the end of this post to make you happy if you really want to know my score.

Anyways, Alien Breed did bring up a great discussion topic for this week. That topic is what makes a good remake. Alien Breed for the PS Vita is not a bad remake by any means.  The addition of the updated visuals and the new control scheme really makes it feel like a current gen game.  However, the remake fails to bring some very necessary additions that would make the game so much better.  The fact that I don’t know what I can run into or die from in the environment in Alien Breed is a huge issue.  I also don’t know if the developers intended to make it hard to tell or not is another issue.  The red lights near the end of each level also makes it really hard to see and I bet that could be improved as well.

This brings up the argument of how much different should a remake be?  Purists of the original content would probably like how they upgraded the game but for someone who has not played it, I find it outdated and frustrating.  In my opinion, a remake should remind the player how great it was back then. They should not be reminded of how old the game is.

Remastered versions like The Wind Waker HD and Duck Tales: Remastered updated the visuals significantly so that players got that feeling of “just how I remembered it.”  Looking back at the Gamecube version of Wind Waker reminds me of how much HD graphics can improve the look of the game.  Wind Waker HD also brought new mechanics to enhance gameplay.  Of course the original game was not as old as Alien Breed but Duck Tales was, in fact it’s older.  Duck Tales remastered enhanced perspective, controls and animations to what was already a solid game.  Alien Breed updated graphics but boss battles continue to feel lifeless with their lack of animations.

A remake should always look back at the core content and make changes.  Alien Breed did provide more content to players which was very welcome. Trophy integration was also a huge plus as well as online co-op.  Wind Waker HD brought players the swift sail, providing impatient players, like myself, a means to travel the world much faster.  They also added subtle changes like being able to swing on ropes in all directions without having to stop.  I feel a lot of remakes could use these subtle changes. Call me a heretic, but playing the recent Shadow of the Colossus HD feels a little clunky now when back then it felt perfectly fine.

Again, a remake should remind the player of how they remembered it being played and not how it’s aged.  For quite some time, I felt that creating game studios specifically for remaking games would be a great idea and a great way to create jobs for interns and new game developers.  Working closely with preexisting IP and companies would provide some great experience for upcoming game devs.

Alien Breed Review Summary

Alien Breed provides players with a great amount weapons and re-playability. It’s currency system is well balanced and it becomes easier to collect it and not waste it as you get better at the game. Level designs and the lack of enemies and bosses make Alien Breed lose its steam rather quickly. Luckily it is a short enough game that you will beat it by then.  Overall, it is a remake that could have been better with enhanced level design or even given a more isometric feel.  The updated controls on classic mode would have been a huge plus too. 

Score: 6.5

 

Alien Breed: First Impressions

I continue my alien game invasion with Alien Breed, a top down shooter developed by Team17 in 1991. The game was released for the Amiga and DOS, two consoles that I never owned.  Lucky for me, the game was released on the PlayStation Network so I could experience this twenty year old game on my Vita.  The game is objective based taking you from point A, to point B then taking you back to point A. There isn’t much of a story in Alien Breed, which doesn’t hurt the game but it would have been nice.

This version of the game has enhanced graphics and dual-analog support which is easily the best way to play this game.  You can change the settings back to the original graphics and game play which is nice, but not recommended.  The game still looks pretty good but it does not control well without the extra analog stick. With the new controls, you just use the left stick to move and right stick to shoot.  It’s extremely simple.  One of the coolest features this game has is its shopping system.  At any time, you can enter the store and purchase new guns, ammo, health and even extra lives.  You can purchase these items, except for the guns, in bulk which makes it important to save up your credits.  It is easy to find credits around the level but you will use them frequently for ammo and health.

As fun as the game can be, it can be very frustrating. Levels are extremely maze like and navigating around these areas can be challenging without the map.  The arrow only guides you to a general direction and the visual cues on the ground can only do so much.  The lack of 3D in the game also makes navigation a challenge. Some areas are meant to act as a lower level which is impossible to tell.  Your player will fall into these obstacles constantly even though you aren’t anywhere near the edge. The worst part is that some of these areas are death traps instantly killing you.  The perspective also makes it challenging to tell what is an obstacle and what isn’t making it navigation annoying.  The most disappointing aspect of the game is its boss battles.  Some of these bosses have less than three frames of animations and the size of these creatures make it extremely noticeable.  The bosses are so easy that you can literally stay in one spot and shoot forward.  I have only played through six objectives so I hope to see some better bosses and even some more enemy variations.

Alien Breed has multiple game modes that I have yet to touch as well as co-op that I may or may not get to in the review. Either way, I look forward to playing the rest of the game. Hopefully their will be more variation in enemies and levels.

You will fall in that hole.