Friday

Ahead of schedule, QOTSS is now complete. I’ve already invested quite a bit of time in editing, refining and polishing each of the four parts, so this draft is fairly solid and shouldn’t require too much extra work. I’ll now be turning my attention towards my e-books. If all goes to plan, I hope to have the updated versions uploaded in a month or so. And I’ll probably do a free promotion on a couple of them, so look out for it.

In gaming news, I have reviews written for those two Metal Gear games I picked up in the sale. They’ll be coming up soon. And next week Total War: Attila is released which I think I’ll pick up. I’ve watched several hours worth of streams of the game and I’ll watch a few more now reviews are starting to drop. After Rome 2 I’m naturally a little wary, but everything is looking quite positive.

Aside from that, I’ve still got Assassin’s Creed 4 in my backlog and…yeah, there’s not much else on the horizon I can say I’m waiting for. The Witcher 3 is due out in May. Hopefully Attila and AC4 will keep me occupied until then. I might even do some retro reviews along the way if I’m not too busy.

Now Playing: Valiant Hearts

Valiant Hearts is a narrative driven puzzle game set during the Great War. We don’t see many games tackle this conflict, which is one of the reasons I was interested in the title. The game follows several characters throughout the course of the war (including a dog!). Switching between these characters, you guide them through four chapters solving puzzles to progress.

Built with the same engine as the gorgeous Child of Light, Valiant Hearts employs a detailed, cartoon style. This style may be a matter of personal taste, but I thought it looked great, although it does lead to certain issues which I’ll discuss later. The wonderful visuals are complemented by a lovely soundtrack. In terms of its characters and story, Valiant Hearts sadly falls a little flat, not because the characters and story aren’t well told, but because of the gameplay.

 

Valiant Hearts isn’t a difficult game, but it’s a game where you’ll probably die a lot. Many ‘action’ segments have numerous instant-death moments, turning them into a rather irritating trial and error system. Checkpoints are frequent, so death isn’t really a concern, but this stop-start nature to the game (where death is a frequent minor annoyance) somewhat undermines its narrative. As I said, it’s not difficult. The action segments are mostly a matter of paying attention and learning the patterns of falling bombs and enemy fire. And the puzzle sections, which make up the bulk of the gameplay, are incredibly simplistic to the point of tedium.

In addition to the action and puzzle segments, there are also ‘chase’ sequences which play like a really awful flash or mobile game. Oh, and for one character, you also have repetitive and pointless QTE sequences. Valiant Hearts is just incredibly boring to play, there’s no other way to say it. Towards the end, during what should have been an exciting final action sequence, I very nearly dozed off. And no, I’m not exaggerating.

During this ‘action’ sequence, like the many before it, the gameplay simply involves moving your character from the left of the screen to the right whilst avoiding enemy fire. You move a few feet. You stop. You move a few feet. You stop. That’s all the ‘action’ segments essentially are. They are great to look at, but completely un-engaging to play, and this is why it’s so hard to connect to the characters and narrative.

 

There are a couple of more interesting action moments throughout the game, including a couple of ‘boss’ type fights, but these are sadly few and far between. But Valiant Hearts is a puzzle game at its core. If we ignore the poor action segments, the terrible chase scenes and the tedious QTE nonsense, how does it hold up in terms of its puzzles? Oh dear.

As I’ve said, the puzzles are incredibly simplistic. Aside from one or two moments where you actually have to stop and think, examining your environment and switching between characters to make use of their unique skills, the vast majority of ‘puzzles’ are just dull, pointless filler. A great example of this is the ‘escape’ from a POW camp as it conforms to the same repetitive template as many of the puzzles in the game.

You need to acquire a particular item to escape. You move through the camp encountering people who also all desire a particular item. Eventually, you find person ‘A’ - the start of the chain. From them you are given an item for the next person in the chain. You take this item to person ‘B’ who then gives you another item to take to person ‘C’ and so on until you gain the particular item you need. And that’s it. You just walk from one person to the next exchanging items. It’s not challenging or clever. It doesn’t tie into the narrative at all. And this feeling of unnecessary padding persists throughout Valiant Hearts.

The game also has a lot of problems with regards to tone. It has this colourful, cartoon style which initially seems as if it’s pushing towards a more comedic element – especially when you meet the ridiculous, over the top, villain of the piece. It doesn’t seem like it’s supposed to be taken very seriously. It’s like a stylised, hyper-exaggerated portrayal of the Great War. Only then, suddenly, the game will shift tone and expect us to take it seriously, only to shift sharply back again as you jump into a silly flash game chase sequence with upbeat music. This issue is further compounded by the ‘history’ pieces which pop up in relation to events in the game.

 

This creates a horrible clash of tone. You’re fighting in a battle before which the game solemnly lists how many men died in, only to shove you into this cartoon landscape where there’s no real sense of risk or threat because death is only a minor inconvenience, and where everything is exaggerated to a silly degree. I’m really not sure what tone the game is going for because it’s all over the bloody place.

Although I liked its style, music and choice of setting, there’s not much else I can say that’s good about Valiant Hearts. It does have a few decent puzzles and action segments here and there, but overall, it’s a tedious, badly paced and tonally inconsistent mess. It’s also only about 5 hours long with zero replay value unless you like searching for pointless collectibles.

The story does have a few touching moments, but it’s really hard to care when the gameplay is so bloody dull. It feels like the developers had a story they wanted to tell, but didn’t know how to translate that into gameplay, so we’re left with a hodgepodge of dull action, simplistic puzzles, a dumb driving mini-game and horrible QTE sequences.

By the time I reached the end of the game, all I felt was relief that the ordeal was over. In that respect, I suppose you could argue that the tone fits perfectly. I really wish I could recommend Valiant Hearts on its style and setting alone, but that’s sadly not enough when weighed against how tedious it all is. It’s not a terrible game. It has its good moments, as rare as they are. And it’s certainly not one of the worst games I’ve played, but it’s definitely one of the most boring.

5/10

Work in Progress: QOTSS

Part 3 of QOTSS is complete and I’ve now planned and begun work on the fourth and final part. If all goes to schedule, I hope to have a complete final draft of QOTSS by the 15^th of February. Part 4 is where everything I’ve set up finally falls into place. It’s going to be interesting to write, but also very tricky. There’s a lot to juggle.

Overall, I’m pretty happy with how QOTSS has progressed. I originally wanted to have it completed by the end of 2014, but I always knew that would be difficult. But I’m not too far off the mark. Once QOTSS is done, I’ll be turning my attention to my e-books and uploading new versions. There won’t be major changes, just minor edits.

In blog related news, I’ve been fixing old errors and correcting formatting issues. Hopefully for the last time.

Now Playing: The Typing of the Dead

The Typing of the Dead: Overkill is a piece of educational software designed to improve your touch typing skill in terms of speed and accuracy. You are presented with a rapid fire of word and phrase challenges. Failure to complete these challenges in the allotted time results in a penalty – the loss of at least 1 ‘heath point’. Continual failure may (will) result in death.

I played the original Overkill when it was released on the Wii in 2009, a continuation of the popular House of the Dead series. Like previous titles, it’s an on-rails FPS playable solo or in co-op. You progress through several levels set in a variety of locations shooting various zomb- mutant types leading to a boss confrontation.

 

You’re scored on a combo system by stringing together accurate hits, not taking damage and occasionally rescuing civilians. As you progress you’ll discover collectibles (music, comics, art, 3D models) plus cash which can be spent on new weapon types and upgrades (ammo count, reload speed, damage etc). There are three difficulty modes including a ‘Director’s Cut’ mode with additional challenges, plus three mini-games.

The story and style of Overkill is very much in the grindhouse style. It’s silly, over the top, gory and full of foul language, but it has its tongue firmly in its cheek. I’m sure some people would think it all rather unnecessary and offensive but I don’t think I ever stopped grinning from the moment Isaac Washington declared ‘I’m gonna rip your motherf**king balls off!’

Of course, this review isn’t really just about the ‘regular’ Overkill game which is included in this package, but the ‘Typing’ version. It’s the same game, of course, but updated in a way whereby letters become bullets. As the zomb- mutants attack, words or phrases will appear on the screen. As you start typing you also start shooting and completing that word or phrase will kill the attached mutant. Easy enough, until you have 3 or more mutants on screen, some of which may also throw items at you which must be deflected with a single letter.

 

Obviously, you can only tackle a single letter, word or phrase at a time, so not only must you type quickly, but you have to learn to prioritise the most urgent threat. But it’s not all about speed, but accuracy too, especially if you play on the Hardcore variation setting (separate to the three main difficulties) where a single letter out of place will reset the word or phrase entirely, meaning you have to begin from scratch with something new. Like in the original version, you are scored on accuracy and stringing together hits, building an increasing combo. The typing version also has its own updated mini-games and collectibles to find.

I’m not really sure what else I can say about Overkill. It’s a game where you type words to kill mutants and that’s not really something you can f**k up. That said, the typing mechanic has been very neatly integrated into the original game in a way that feels finely balanced and even throws in a clever twist on the final boss which I won’t spoil here.

 

As a package, with the regular game plus the typing variation, including all the mini-games, co-op, difficulty modes, DLC levels and a few free DLC dictionaries included, you get a lot to keep you busy. It’s not a very long game if you only intend to play through once (maybe a couple of hours) but there’s a lot of replay value here if like going for high scores or challenging yourself on harder modes. Oh, and it may just improve your touch typing skills too.

It can look a bit rough given its Wii origins, but that kind of adds to the charm. It also has a great soundtrack. So yeah, if you want an arcade style light-gun game on your PC, you really can’t go wrong with it. It’s enjoyable and challenging to play, although perhaps a little easier on the regular version thanks to mouse accuracy. It’s a game where you type words to kill mutants. And it does that pretty much perfectly. It won’t ever quite capture the fantastic fun of standing next to a mate, each with a plastic gun, shooting at the CRT in your living room, but it’s about as close as you can hope to get.

8/10

Steam Holiday Sale: Damage Report

It’s a little late, but here’s a damage report for the recent Steam Holiday Sale -

 

First up is Valkyria Chronicles, which I’ve already covered. I wasn’t too sure about it seeing as the discount wasn’t that great, and even after watching some videos, I had no clue if I’d enjoy it. But I decided to take a chance and I’m glad I did.

I was in a similar position with Ground Zeroes. It’s a new release, so not a big discount either, and GAMING CONFESSION: I’m never played a Metal Gear title before, so I wasn’t sure if I’d like it. But I do like the look of the upcoming Phantom Pain, so I figured Zeroes, which seems to serve as a sort of prologue chapter, would be a relatively cheap way to try it out and see if I might like it.

Next up – Metal Gear Rising. Because I figured – why not? From no Metal Gear titles to two might seem like a risk, but both games are very different. Rising was dirt cheap and made by Platinum who have produced some games I’ve enjoyed a lot, particularly Vanquish. It was an easy choice and the game looks suitably bonkers.

Then we have Assassin’s Creed 4. I’m kind of sick of Assassin’s Creed now, but I did really like the ship stuff in AC3 (it was probably the only thing I really liked) so an entire pirate themed game based around that might be pretty fun. At 4.99 I figured it was worth a punt.

My final purchase was Valiant Hearts which looks like a neat little game and something a bit different. I also got The Typing of the Dead: Overkill as a gift. I enjoyed the Wii version a lot and I’m having a blast with this edition, even though I’m shockingly crap at it. I would have thought spending most of the day typing would make it easier, but it turns out I’m utter shit at proper touch typing, especially when zombies are trying to eat my face.

Now Playing: Valkyria Chronicles

Valkyria Chronicles is a turn-based strategy/puzzle game set in a fictional world similar to late 1930s Europe, where the small country of Gallia finds itself pulled into a war between two major powers – the Atlantic Federation and the Imperial Alliance. The story is told through the pages of a ‘history book’ focused on the operations of Militia Squad 7. Each chapter has a series of animated story events leading into a battle operation.

I must admit, I was initially a little irritated by VC as it felt as if I was spending more time watching animated scenes than I was actually playing the bloody game. The early battle operations are very short and very limited in scale and strategy. Fortunately, as you begin to progress through these early chapters the game rapidly expands in both depth and scope, introducing several new elements.

 

From the story book you can access your HQ where you can select your squad, assign special weapons, learn new orders, level up troop classes and invest in various upgrades. Each squad member is unique in appearance and ‘potentials’ which may have a positive or negative effect during operations depending upon certain circumstances. One scout may be ‘desert bred’ and perform better in such an environment, for example, whereas another is more suited to grassy fields. There are also tabs in the book containing more in depth information about the characters, weapons and history of the world as well as skirmish and class specific training maps.

From the HQ you can build up a squad comprised of five different unit classes – scout, trooper, lancer, engineer and sniper. This is in addition to two tank units. Each has various capabilities that make them useful in certain situations. The scout has the largest movement range, for example, but is ineffective against tank units, in which case you’ll need a lancer, although they are slow to move and have limited range.

Each operation plays out like this: there’s a briefing period where you can assign the units you’d like to use, selecting their starting position on an overhead map of the mission area. Each operation is turn based, switching between you and the enemy. Each turn grants you a number of ‘command points’. These are used to move your units (1 for infantry, 2 for tanks) or issue special orders (such as artillery support). Each unit has a certain movement range varying from large (scouts) to small (lancers). Every movement you make with the same unit depletes this range further until it is reset on the next turn.

 

Units can only attack once per turn, so it’s in your interest to move, attack and take up a final position as efficiently as you can as your command points per turn are limited. Although turn based, some enemy types can still attack your selected unit if you stray into their line of fire. Operations have various objectives to complete, but generally, your primary goal is to capture an enemy camp. Some maps also have interactive features such as lifts, trains, trenches and towers which can be integrated into your strategy.

One thing you realise early on, is that operations are ranked entirely on turns taken. Although your score will increase through enemy ‘ace’, ‘leader’ (leaders grant the enemy additional command points making them valuable targets) and tank kills, it’s the turns taken that really matters. The higher the rank, the more experience and money you will earn, which is then spent on levelling up your unit classes and buying upgrades for their weapons and equipment.

When you realise this, the operations transform into fascinating puzzles to solve, as you seek out the most fast and efficient route possible to complete your objectives with the highest rank possible. Often, this involves clever use of scouts using their high movement range to get behind enemy lines. Or, in one case, using a clever smokescreen to beat one of the ‘boss’ enemies in two moves. Not turns – moves. And there are many missions which allow you to figure out all sorts of ‘creative’ solutions to beat them in as few moves as possible.

I really liked this aspect of the game and it’s one which gives it a lot of replay value as you try various tactics to see which is the fastest. It does become something of a trial and error system with a lot of reloading, but it’s quite addictive and fun to play around with. One thing you must note, however, is for some reason, you can’t replay the main story missions until NG+ in which all of your unlocked levels and equipment carries over.

 

I quite enjoyed the story and characters of VC, even though I felt it could have pushed the darker elements far more than it did. I also got quite attached to certain squad members. They all have unique personalities meaning they’re not just faceless foot soldiers. And yes, I found the operations to be quite addictive and enjoyable to play, even though I must admit a couple of them were a bit dull. Even though I’ve completed it, I’ll likely go on playing to see what more I can unlock and if I can attain a top rank on every operation.

That said, I do have my issues with VC and these mostly revolve around the ranking mechanic. I get that it’s been designed in this specific way, but at the same time, I can’t help but feel it’s resulted in a game that feels more like a puzzle game than one of strategy. My issue is that because of the way it is designed, VC rather severely limits and restricts how the player may approach each operation. Because your ranking determines your experience and money gained, it’s in your best interest to attain the highest score possible in order to continue to upgrade and outfit your troops.

But as I’ve described, the only way to obtain the highest ranking is to complete operations in as few turns as possible. What does this result in? It results in units such as your tanks, troopers, lancers, engineers and snipers being used very rarely due to their limited movement range and their cost to your command points per turn. In general, your scouts are your most important unit, aside from a handful of situations that require a specific skill such as an engineer to clear a mine or a lancer to target a tank. Command points are precious things that you simply can’t afford to waste.

Now, you can certainly use the skirmish mode to grind experience and cash if you want. Ranking isn’t that much of a problem. But the game doesn’t simply push you to complete each operation quickly for ranking purposes. In fact, even if you didn’t care about ranking and simply wanted to approach each operation as a strategic operation utilising all of the various classes, you’ll only find it detrimental to do so. Enemy camps may continually call in reinforcements, making it important to capture them as soon as possible. The game is designed to play the operations in the fastest number of turns, and the longer you take, the harder it actually becomes and the less reward you receive.

 

I’m not saying this approach to design is wrong, rather that the supporting elements don’t quite fit. This particularly applies to units. With such a limited movement range you’ll rarely, if ever, want to use the trooper units in your squad. And although I used snipers quite a lot, it was only when it wasn’t necessary to move them too far from the starting zone. The limitations to command points and specific unit ranges means that the player becomes quite limited in terms of strategy. Why run a trooper to a position over three moves when I can cover a longer distance with a single scout move?

I was hoping the larger, later operations would grow in complexity in terms of unit strategy, but this never became the case, and attempting to play in a strategic sense where unit formation, position and composition is balanced and important, only results in being detrimental to your progress.

Some operations also become far too trial and error dependent in terms of emerging threats. In one mission, an enemy tank arrived as part of a story scripted reinforcement behind me and destroyed my tank in a single hit, failing the mission. I had to reload and position my tank out of line of sight in advance of the scripted action. It doesn’t really feel strategic, more like a puzzle which is revealed piece by piece as you progress, and only once you have the entire picture can you properly approach the operation.

But despite these issues, I still really enjoyed playing through VC and I’m sure I’ll continue to play as I experiment with different methods. It’s just a shame that the game feels so restrictive towards the player and limits their strategic options. I can’t help but feel the ranking system (and therefore the operations) would have been far more interesting if it took multiple factors into account. That said, VC is a good game and one I’d happily recommend.

7/10