The GameSparked Podcast Apr-09-2013

The GameSparked Team

The GameSparked Podcast contains naughty words, and inappropriate content. Viewer discretion is advised.

It’s time to strap in and hunker down for another episode of The GameSparked Podcast! Joe kicks things off by reporting in with the ever-popular DmC Devil May Cry and then digs in to Vessel. Mat is here to talk about all things Injustice: Gods Among Us, Age of Empires II HD, the rhythmic HarmoKnight, and Guacamelee. Finally, Myles reassures the group that the only size that matters is the size of your body count with the help of Hitman: Absolution. Also on this week’s podcast, rude parrots, the Vita is great, and the Wii U not so much. All that, and much more, in this week’s episode of The GameSparked Podcast!

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Original Intro/Outro by Cody DeBoer

The DubSparked Remix by Kevin Madden

[GOTY] Myles’ Top Six Picks of 2012… And More!

Myles Milligan
GOTY 2012

Hey there! I’m Myles. Most of you probably know me only for my striking good looks, as per the picture above, and by my award-winning personality on our weekly podcasts. However, one might be surprised to find out that I’ve been known to write a review, or even an article on occasion. It’s true — and since my early beginnings at GameSparked I’ve amassed a reputation for taking my sweet time with my written projects. But hey, just like Valve’s unofficial motto, I too am a firm believer that “you can’t rush art.” 

Anyway, this year has seen its fair share of great games. And for as many games that I’ve had the opportunity to play, I still can’t help but feel like I’ve missed a huge portion of titles that really hit-home for many others. Unfortunately for me, time is a commodity that I’m not regularly granted. So, for the limited selection that I have, I would like to share with you the 2012 titles that hold a special place in my heart.

Natural Selection 2

I remember walking by the booth for Natural Selection 2 at PAX Prime. Just a glimpse of it had me intrigued. I was eager to try it, but ended up having to leave and thought nothing of it afterwords. In later months, I was surprised when I activated a code for the game and realized that I would be doing the review on it. The game hit me with full force! Firstly, I was blown away with the aesthetic element of it. Just the overall attention to detail that radiated from the rendering was phenomenal. The concept, although not that original, was very refreshing, especially in a market that’s become saturated with zombies versus humans; with open arms, I will embrace aliens versus humans in a conquest for domination, any day. The fact that you can play either on the fronlines in first-person, or overlooking the battlefield as the commander is fantastic. If there is one thing that Natural Selection 2 does right among others like it, it’s the multi-surface traversal. It’s so fluid it feels like you’re sliding on butter on the ceiling.

As it stands now, Natural Selection 2 is a pay-to-play online multiplayer, and if you’ve been keeping up with our GOTY awards, then you know our feelings on them. It is my sincerest hope that Unknown Worlds eventually makes the decision to go free-to-play, so that this game will see its full potential.

Darksiders II

Having never actually played the first Darksiders, I came into the sequel with a feeling like I was swimming in unfamiliar waters. Luckily, I picked it up with a natural ease. Darksiders II has a great look and feel to it. It plays like a cross-breed between The Legend of Zelda, Prince of Persia, and Devil May Cry. I found myself quickly engaged in the story; it was dark (like the title implies), and very well-written. All the characters were memorable and extremely well voiced. Death is probably the coolest–easily the most condescending–protagonist that I played as this year, and he’s a straight up badass to boot! Also, this game was long. It took me somewhere around 35 hours to complete, so it is definitely worth the money when you consider the length. And even after completing the story, I found myself going back and still discovering places I had previously overlooked.

Vessel

Without a doubt, Vessel was my biggest surprise of the year– and that’s definitely not a bad thing. On the contrary, I was blown away by how such a seemingly mediocre presentation could reveal itself as a hidden jewel. The sense of wonder and fascination that I got from the world itself was great. I was particularly interested by the Fluros, which are these water-based machines built by your character to perform tasks for industrial purposes. In essence, these creatures are mindless drones, that can both serve to aid you, or even kill you whilst you strive to regain control over them. I like to tote about how the level of conveyance in this game is brilliant. And it is. By how it’s designed, it sets up the player to teach themselves how to play. “Man, I love that!” The puzzles were interesting and fun, and make the game seem longer than it actually is. Finally, reinforced by an awesome soundtrack by Jon Hopkins, this game instilled a sense of exploration that was so needed. With everything that Vessel had going for it, there was no way that it wasn’t going to make this list. 

The Walking Dead

“Hey look, another person who really enjoyed The Walking Dead!” Yeah, I know, this game has made so many GOTY lists, you kind of expect it by now. But it truly deserves to be here. In a saturated market, overflowing with zombies these days, The Walking Dead stood out as a cut above all others. Its story, coupled with the choices I made, affected me in such a way that every time I walked away from an episode a part of it clung onto me. Honestly, this is the closest thing to making tough choices as a vicarious father-figure that I’ve experienced in my life. It wasn’t easy, but, for Clementine’s sake, I needed to step up and make decisions that she sometimes didn’t like. Everything that culminated from all five episodes led to one of the most bittersweet endings in videogame history.

The Darkness II

I will be as so bold to say that this was the most talked about game on The GameSparked Podcast. There are those who absolutely love this game, and others who don’t feel so strongly about it… one person in particular comes to mind. I obviously fall within the first category. Coming off as a big fan of its predecessor, I was thrilled to hear that The Darkness II was set to release in early February. It did not disappoint. Oh, how I so missed that creepy, demonic voice of the Darkness. Seeing Jackie Estacado again, was like seeing a long lost acquaintance — still internally tormented as ever. In fact, seeing all the old, and even the new, faces was refreshing. I just love the grittiness and supernatural element of the story. Digital Extremes took a few different approaches with the sequel that I think really worked for it. The presentation, with it’s graphic novel look; it’s linearity, which gave it good pacing; and then its combat, quad-wielding made me feel like a god! I could go on and on about how much I love this game, but for your sake, I will simply end off by saying, “The Darkness II is one of the greatest shooters ever made!”

Hotline Miami
I picked up this title fairly late into the year, and subsequently wanted to punch myself in the face for not picking it up earlier. This is seriously a goddamn great game! “Ahh, I’m going to gush now.” Everything about this game is amazing, and it’s really hard for me to find something that I don’t like about it. The main menu itself looks great with its strung-out/blow-out title. It makes me feel like I’m high and in a really safe place. The amount of pixelated gore that’s exuded is a real art form, and that sounds weird, but it garners such a visceral reaction that I love. The story is raw and gritty, and it’s such a mass of loose threading that it leaves so many questions in my mind about what actually happened. I think its open ending really works to its favour. The gameplay is extremely challenging, and for some reason it doesn’t bother me; it merely serves to make me try harder. For a standalone soundtrack, I haven’t heard anything better. Even now, the eclectic mix of retro-inspired beats has an active spot on my playlist. If there was only one game I could recommend this year, it would have to be Hotline Miami.


An honourable mention to…


Snuggle Truck
This is another title that I wish I had picked up earlier. It’s pure, simple fun at its finest. Next to Clementine, I really care about those adorable stuffed animals!


My most anticipated game of 2013:
Rayman Legends
Ever since seeing this game at E3, Mat and I have been teeming with excitement for its release. Even after recently playing the demo, not an ounce of that excitement has left.


Finally, some people I would like to thank…

 Mat Paget
Thanks for being one of the best friends/colleagues/editors/”bosses” a guy can ask for. 

Jonathan Tay
Thanks for being a fantastic editor and an inspiration for trying to incorporate a certain panache in my writing.

Stephen Loney and Cody Penner
Thank you for starting the Fraser Valley Game Developers meetup. I swear, I will fight tooth and nail to try to make it out to the next one!

You, the reader
Thank you for supporting my work and having read through one of the longer, if not the longest, GOTY lists on GameSparked.

See you all in 2013!

[GOTY] Who Won on Day One? — Game of the Year Breakdown

The GameSparked Team
GOTY 2012

BEWARE! POTENTIAL SPOILERS!

Best New Character

Winner: Clementine (The Walking Dead)

Clementine winning this category will come as no surprise to a lot people who played The Walking Dead. A lot of us grew very attached to the adorable eight year old, and with good reason. It’s a kind of emotional connection to a character that (almost) never happens in videogames that won Clem this award, and we’re cautiously hopeful to see where she goes next.

Runner-Ups: Tiny Tina (Borderlands 2), Johnny Powell (The Darkness II)

—–

Biggest Surprise

Winner: Sleeping Dogs

Sleeping Dogs surprised us. For a game that had such a long, troubled development cycle, it turned out amazing. Also, for a game that was once called “True Crime,” it turned out amazing. We couldn’t be happier about the success of Sleeping Dogs, and we can’t wait for the future DLC, as well as any sequels that may come to be.

Runner-Ups: Dust: An Elysian Tail, Vessel

—–

Best Looking

Winner: Dust: An Elysian Tail
Dust: An Elysian Tail is a beautiful game. It doesn’t take much time to be astounded by its stunning visuals, surprisingly-good lighting, and art-style that we can really get behind. The fact that there was only one guy working on it makes the feat of creating such a beautiful-looking world seem even more impressive. There’s no doubt in our mind concerning Dust: An Elysian Tail deserving this award.

Runner-Ups: Fez, Sound Shapes

—–

Best Use of Dubstep

Winner: SSX

While some of the other nominees in this category might have better dubstep tracks in them, none other can truly match what SSX does with the musical genre. Landing enough dope tricks lets the player enter Tricky mode, and the game thrusts them into a world of dubstep. In this existence, the Earth itself is made of purest dubstep and shakes with the force of a thousand wobble basses with each landed trick, and we couldn’t be happier about this.

Runner-Ups: Borderlands 2, Syndicate

Day One of The GameSparked Game of the Year Debates 2012

The GameSparked Team
GOTY 2012

The GameSparked GotY Debate contains naughty words, and inappropriate content. Viewer discretion is advised.

Mat, Myles, and Joe kick off their five-day, Game-of-the-Year excursion, and argue over who should win what. Things get heated, and they even end up feeling like monsters at some point! The awards debated over today are Best New Character, Biggest Surprise, Best Looking, and Best Use of Dubstep. Listen below to find out which games win awards.

BEWARE! POTENTIAL SPOILERS!

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Original Intro/Outro by Cody DeBoer

The DubSparked Remix by Kevin Madden

[GOTY] Biggest Surprise Nominees

The GameSparked Team
GOTY 2012


BEWARE OF POTENTIAL SPOILERS

Sometimes we have absolutely no expectations for a game, and then it ends up surprising us. There are also times when we expect a game to be nothing more than okay, and it ends up being fantastic. We want to recognize these games as the great titles they are. Here are our nominees for Biggest Surprise of 2012.

Dragon’s Dogma

Dragon’s Dogma didn’t have a lot of excitement building up to it. In fact, most of it was due to the fact that anyone who bought it would be getting early access to the first Resident Evil 6 demo. However, when we started playing Dragon’s Dogma, we (well, at least Mat) were surprised at how good the game actually was. Even if it was super weird at times.

Dust: An Elysian Tail

We didn’t expect much from Dust: An Elysian Tail, but we were completely wrong. The game’s art-style, voice acting, questing, gameplay, and Metroidvania-style platforming had us in awe. We couldn’t get enough of it. And the fact that only one guy developed this entire thing makes it even more impressive.

Sleeping Dogs

Sleeping Dogs was another game we didn’t expect much from. You usually don’t when games are in development this long, and go through as much trouble as this one did before releasing. We are really glad we’re wrong. The game brings together all of its mechanics into one awesome package that is just as exciting as any Hong Kong crime movie.

Syndicate

Syndicate is a completely different game from its 1993 debut. In a time where most first-person shooters are relatively the same, Syndicate felt surprisingly fresh. If there’s one thing that’s true, it’s that Starbreeze Studios knows how to make unique-feeling first-person shooters.

Vessel
 When you lay eyes upon Vessel for the first time, it really doesn’t say much for itself. That is until you actually play it. This steampunk puzzler is truly a gem in disguise. With its awesome in-game physics, engaging puzzles, and a mesmerizing soundtrack, we walked away from Vessel with it stuck to our hearts.

Interview with Strange Loop Games

The GameSparked Team

Myles is getting his feet wet, again, but this time he’s sitting down with the studio head of Strange Loop games – John Krajewski. In this interview they talk about production/promotion for Vessel, the killer soundtrack by Jon Hopkins, and possibly a partnership with Pixar?

The other members of Strange Loop are Martin Farren – Technical Director, Milenko Tunjic – Art Director, and Mark Filipelli – Lead Artist.

Strange Loop’s website: http://www.strangeloopgames.com/

Intro/Outro Music by Cody DeBoer

Watch&Learn: Vessel

The GameSparked Team

Mat is all about solving puzzles, but Myles just wants to shoot his goo all over the place. We’re getting our feet wet with Vessel, in this edition of Watch&Learn.

[REVIEW] Vessel

Myles Milligan
(PC [REVIEWED])

Ever since I joined the GameSparked team, I’ve had the opportunity to expose myself to a wonderful array of indie games. After playing through so many of them, I have developed a genuine appreciation for the smaller game developers, and the creativity that they are able to produce on a more limited budget. A big problem that many indie developers suffer from is that most of their budget gets used up in the developmental process, so when it comes time to market their product, resources are even more limited. It makes me think, how many good indie games have been over-looked because of lack of representation? Truth be told, this was totally the case with me when it came to Vessel. I had seen previews for it on Steam, and what I did see didn’t seem all that appealing. But perhaps there was something I wasn’t quite seeing. Perhaps there was actually something more to this seemingly unappealing game.


When you select a new game for the first time, the menu seamlessly transitions into the game, and quickly acquaints the player with a little exposition told through pictures. In a nutshell, the protagonist is an inventor who created living machines made of liquid, called Fluros. The sole purpose of these Fluros is to work efficiently and tirelessly in factories and other places of labour. The game kicks off when a single Fluro locks you out of your laboratory, and then proceeds to cause havoc throughout the rest of the structure. Written narratives by the protagonist shed more light on the current events, and also highlight the task at hand. The game is a bit lacking in the story department, but it’s a simple side-scrolling/puzzle-solving game, so it doesn’t take that much away. 


Vessel excels in the categories of aesthetics and sound. The environments are rendered with an interesting look, achieved by layering seemingly 3D characters and objects over a 2D background. Colours pop with good contrast in areas like factories, orchards, and mines. It’s always welcoming to see a game that’s easy on the eyes. Sound effects have been engineered well, from footsteps, to machines turning, to the splashing of liquid; it all matches up with what’s happening. My favourite thing about this game is, unequivocally, the music. It is always intriguing to listen to, and did its job well in setting the tone for each stage of the game. Composer Jon Hopkins did an amazing job by mixing classical piano sounds with electronic bass, which ignited a sense of exploration in me.

Anybody up for some underground zip-lining?

Vessel, by nature, is a simple game that does extraordinary things. Whether you play with your keyboard and mouse, or with a controller, it makes little difference in terms of learning how to play the game. Everything comes with natural ease, and that’s a great quality to have in any game. But what I find so brilliant about Vessel is how the game sets players up to teach themselves how to play. Well planned events that occur throughout the game compliment the experimentation that players will naturally do when playing around with the properties of the game. The need for extensive tutorials becomes non-existent, and the end result is a more rewarding experience for the player. A tip of my hat goes to Strange Loop for the amount of ingenuity that they brought to this project. 


I’ll just go ahead and say this now, Vessel is totally like Portal, but with liquids. Gameplay-wise there isn’t a whole lot of difference between the two. Puzzles are engaging, and require some thought process. Working through them and finally figuring them out was a rewarding experience in and of itself. It’s no wonder why games like these have such lasting appeal with fans.


The physics engine, that was custom built by Strange Loop, did an excellent job at rendering liquids in the game. It was really fun to experiment with the properties of the liquids and to see how they reacted with one another. Because the game is so heavily influenced by the use of liquid, it was imperative that it worked accordingly with the puzzles. There were a few times that the liquid did act out of the ordinary, but for the most part it was entertaining, and didn’t hamper my progression through puzzles.


Speaking of liquid, the concept of Fluros was an interesting idea that was implemented. Like I said before, Fluros are living machines that were created for the purpose of labour. As you progress, you’ll discover different types of Fluros, each one having their own special mannerism. These mannerisms are what allow you to complete puzzles, and they can be manipulated to do so. Be wary, however: although the different types of Fluros can aid you on your journey, by the flip of a coin, they can also be the bringers of your untimely demise. Not only that, but they will eventually adapt and change to fit their surroundings. This leads to some pretty intense boss battles, all of which were very creatively thought out.

It’s getting a little steamy in here.

To me, Vessel is one of those gems that you just so happen to stumble upon as you’re sifting through the endless list of titles that are available for purchase. I consider myself fortunate that I did eventually play this game, rather than carelessly dismissing it as just another unworthy candidate. Vessel does suffer from a few minor issues, and a somewhat weak story, but, ultimately, the game was beyond fun, and I had nothing but a great experience. What more can I say? Oh yeah, this has got to be my favourite indie game of this year thus far!

Here’s the title track from Vessel if you’re interested in listening. Seriously, It’s really good.