Nai

Now Playing - The Binding of Isaac

Roguelikes have been on the way out as of late. As popular as the oldschool Zeldas are, those types of games don't seem to fit what gamers want nowadays. The graphics aren't pretty, the actual gameplay can get a bit repetative, and because the levels are usually randomly generated, you can end up getting your butt handed to you. Or end up with an unbeatable dungeon. There's not a lot of choice or character creation, and story tends to be rather......

Now playing: Terraria

"Mining" games are all the rage these days. Minecraft arguably paved the way for them, but games like Dwarf Fortress helped too. And don't forget those old virtual reality games like Alpha World that started the whole 'make your own environments' craze. But on a lot of these games, there's less 'game' than there is 'architect'. Which is where Terraria comes in.

Terraria, aptly, was described to me as "Minecrastlevaniatroid", or something close...

Time for a review on a fairly recent Steam release: Space Pirates and Zombies.

SPAZ, as it calls itself, is a rather simple game idea. Combine top-down shooting with a level-up system, a squad-based combat system, and a space-trader-esque explore the galaxy system that allows you to purchase new techs.

Basically, you control your ship in a flat field. Think Asteroids, and it keeps the inertia system for the most part. Shoot towards your mouse. Shoot incoming enemies....

I want to say outright at the beginning of this review: This is how you make a video game.

Let's ignore the fact that some video games sell for $60 and others for $20. Let's pretend that marketing doesn't happen. Let's stop for a moment and kick that whole sales thing to the side.

All we have is the game itself. The gameplay. The graphics. The story. The sound. All on equal footing. When you get them here, to this point, there are games that shine.

Bastion...

I'm sure a good amount of us have been in that oh-so-common position in a video game. You leveled up a few times. You went exploring in the wildneress to explore, and found that the enemies out there were too strong for your current equipment. Your sword was too dull, your armor too weak. You need to buy some items. So you come back to the item shop to buy yourself that next sword/gun/breastplate and head out again. But this interaction is boring and overdone. It needs a new angle.

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