Steam Summer Sale! This has probably been the first time in a long time that I've really been able to participate, and I probably put more time into the Monster Clicker game than I should've. Goofy and utterly pointless, but I somehow found myself checking in 3-4 times over the course of a day to see how I was doing. Taking a step back as someone who works in advertising, it's certainly a clever way to get people engaged with the sale. I wonder if gamers in particular are more likely to participate in futile activities with glaringly obvious commercial overtones. Strange.
I bought 'This War of Mine' on sale after a LOT of deliberation (including reading reviews, deciding I would get it, watching playthroughs, deciding I wouldn't get it, more trailers/reviews/videos). I figured that, as someone who feels some sort of connection to to warfare beyond the typical guns and explosions, it would give me a better perspective on things. And boy, it did. It also played directly into my bizarre attraction to the tragic and depressing.
It's an incredible experience, really. I guess it falls into that 'survival' genre that's so hot right now, but it feels like anything but a popular cash grab. It has a lot of soul to it, and definitely gave me a new perspective on things. The gameplay itself is simple (scavenging, crafting, constantly maintaining well-being) but is utterly unforgiving. The combat is quick and lethal, and there are no save states. If one of your people dies to a freak accident (such as one of my characters that got locked inside a hostile building and was gunned down while trying to find an exit), that's it. Not only do you need to cope with the loss of a critically skilled team member, but the rest of the cast will become depressed at the lost. Let that depression linger too long and they'll kill themselves. Yeah. And the same goes for stealing from a hospital or elderly couple (even though you desperately needed the meds and food to make it through one more day). Your actions have consequences, and it's all tied together and delicately balanced on the head of a pin. I don't think I've had such tension (and emotional connection) from a video game in a very long time. Definitely qualifies for the 'game as art' category.
Side note: On my second playthrough, I made an easy custom scenario where there was an abundance of supplies, short/mild winter, and a lack of hostile presence. The game immediately lost 90% of what makes it incredible. Without the tight strain of rationing, you don't have to make the hard choices and live with them afterwards. The bleak struggle is what fuels the experience's beautiful, heart-wrenching impact that elevates it high above what other titles can hope to achieve.
5/5.
And now, by way of contrast, Borderlands 2. Spoilers ahead:
Do you like shooting? Do you like finding better guns to shoot with?
That's the entirety of the game. Go to X location, use guns to shoot the bad guys, unlock new weapons, go to z location, use new guns to shoot the bad guys. Get a skill point to let you shoot better. Repeat the process. Get to the end of the story? Do it all again! More bad guys! More shooting! More guns!
Needless to say, it got stale pretty fast. And although the writing didn't quite tickle my funny bone, I applaud Gearbox for making an FPS with a sense of humour. The art/visual style is pretty solid too. The shooting feels pretty tight. The main thing I liked was how utterly simple and seamless it was to have other players join your game and play together. No lobbies or hassle, and it's nice to 'drop-in' on someone that'd otherwise being playing a single player campaign.
Aside from that... It is what it is. Well made and unique, but ultimately repetitive as hell.
3/5.
In other news, I also bought the Stanley Parable and GTAV, neither of which I've cracked yet (my meager bandwidth allowance means I'll need to setup my laptop at the office over the weekend to download the latter). I was on the fence for a long time over GTA. It looks good and was well reviewed and I definitely want to play it, of course. But $70? Ouch. Alas, that's the new reality for us Canucks. If it was any other game I'd gladly wait for the price to drop after a year or so, but in this case peer pressure from a couple of sides pushed me over the edge.
I mean, hey, I'm a dude getting paid a career salary while livin' on the cheap. I guess I'm entitled to the occasional fit of consumerism.
-Cril
No music? No music.
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