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‘I Shall Remain: Prologue’ Review – Shoot It In The Head

Charles Battersby — Sun, 29 Jan 2012 10:00:58 +0000

Indie games are often praised for innovative story-telling features or for putting gameplay ahead of graphics, but sometimes small developers become too ambitious, trying to fit in as many cool features as possible without ever getting these all important basic mechanics down. Such is the case with the squad-based zombie shooter survival horror RPG I Shall Remain.

I Shall Remain uses the basics of survival horror by putting the player up against endless waves of shambling undead while limiting access to weapons, ammo and health supplies. The main character is a military officer who finds himself in the midst of the zombie apocalypse. He’s in command of a small unit of other soldiers who’ve survived the outbreak too, and can issue orders to these AI teammates. As they fight off the endless hordes, this squad gains experience points to level up their abilities and upgrade their equipment. All of this takes place during a gritty story of one man flaunting his commanders in order to rescue other trapped soldiers facing imminent death. Orders be damned, he’s bringing his boys home!

That all sounds pretty cool and I’m sure the development team behind I Shall Remain have high hopes for the project, but it’s a case of having too many sinks in the kitchen, then throwing in the kitchen sink for good measure. No single element of the game works well and when these many frustrating pieces are lumped together, it creates a game that only the hardest of hardcore survival horror fans will enjoy.

I Shall Remain is basically a third person shooter that uses an overhead camera to facilitate the squad-based mechanics. Players directly control one character by moving with WASD and aiming with the mouse. Up to four AI buddies can be given simple commands like “Follow Me”, and “Attack Nearest Enemy”. As a shooter, it is competent, but unremarkable. There’s a small selection of weapons which each have an ideal range and the squad must be balanced by divvying up the arsenal between the teammates according to the player’s desires.

The problems begin with the fact that the tutorial doesn’t do an adequate job of explaining how to properly equip the squad, or even explain that the AI teammates won’t use their guns unless their inventories are micro-managed.

Adding to the frustration is the fact that the team begins their mission armed only with hand-to-hand-weapons and guns have to be scavenged during the early parts of the mission. This is easy if players do exactly what the designers intended the player to do, but deviating from a specific path of events will almost certainly result in mission failure. This is a big problem for a game that purports to have “free roam” gameplay.

For example, the game is divided into several short sections, each of which boils down to “reach a particular point on the map. Kill 50 zombies. Proceed to the next point”. Here the troubles come with the way that these missions can be accidentally triggered from the wrong spot. The zombies come in endless waves throughout the map and once the kill count is reached, a new objective is fired off regardless of where the player is. Thus players might be told to secure a specific location when they haven’t seen it yet, or when they have already run far past it. Even then, after killing 50 more zombies players can complete that mission and get assigned another.

The AI is rather dumb too. Both the squadmates, and the zombies will get stuck in walls or corners easily (poor collision detection makes it easy for the player to get stuck too). The squad has to be baby-sat and can’t administer their own health packs, so players have to maintain a close eye on their team. The soldiers can go from full health to dead in seconds. Making it worse is that the final sequence of the game is almost impossible to complete without having at least one of these pals alive.

There is also an overly complicated control set up. Flares, water bottles, health packs, flashlights, grenades, mines – all of these items plus numerous actions have dedicated buttons clustered around WASD, and this is on top of the party inventory system, and squad command buttons. Once players have sorted out the controls, learned how to manage their squad, and discovered exactly what part of the map they’re supposed to be on at each moment, they will then find that I Shall Remain is actually a very short game.

Completing this prologue will only take a few minutes once players know what they’re supposed to do and how to do it. It can be replayed at different difficulty levels to extend the playtime, but I suspect that the typical zombie-fighter will spend much more time struggling against the bad interface and unhelpful tutorial than they will spend battling the undead menace. I Shall Remain requires a lot of work just to enjoy a few minutes of zombie fighting! It should be noted that this review is only for the Prologue which could be considered a demo rather than a final product. The rest of I Shall Remain is being released in episodes that will allegedly add in new features and hopefully much more content, but the project is off to a shaky start.

Gamers who are extremely tolerant of early builds can download the Prologue for free from www.ishallremain.com. Release dates for the coming episodes haven’t been announced.

Pros:

Fight the zombie horde with a squad of fellow survivors

Cons:

Very short. Uninformative tutorial. Easy to trigger scripted events from the wrong location.

Rating:

41%

Indie Game Preview: Magnus: Operation Hard Drive

Gabriel — Tue, 14 Jun 2011 15:05:49 +0000

Magnus: Operation Hard Drive is a video game developed by the independent developer Outer Space Studios, LLC. It is a retro 2D Maze/Action/Puzzle game and is played on the PC. The game was developed using Game Maker 8 Pro and features two different versions: the lite version and the full version. The lite version has a bridging story line to the full version and doesn’t include certain elements in order to avoid spoiling anything featured in the full version.

The story is set in the distant future where various inhabitable planets have been discovered. A very important energy source, known as Magna, is being drained from the cores of unique planets by an unknown source. Damon Foster, a former Air Force recon pilot, has been drafted into the Magnus Program by the Defense for Intergalactic Nations (D.F.I.N.). He is ordered to fend off these unknown sources while wearing a unique tactical suit with special abilities, such as allowing the player to haste.

The goal of the game is for the player to utilize the suit’s various abilities in order to complete challenges while playing as Damon Foster. The player will have the suit’s full arsenal at his disposal but will be challenged by a unique system that requires the player to micro-manage his Magna, the character’s health.

There are two different modes offered: Main Campaign mode and Time Attack Mode. Although both modes will include alternate endings, the main campaign mode has the player play through the main story with over 20 levels. This mode is filled with content and explanations that are not found in Time Attack Mode. The narrative will also be explained through brief cut scenes to explain the story and offer clues on how to solve some of the puzzles.

The Time Attack mode is a basic arcade mode where the player must move and think faster from maze to maze. While being offered the same amount of abilities as the ones found in the story mode, the player is given a certain amount of time to successfully complete each maze. Two key levels and the main story are removed in order to keep it strictly an arcade-based experience.

With a top-down perspective, this game includes retro-style graphics similar to the early 90′s era of video games. It offers an original soundtrack designed to fit with the tempo of the game.

Before playing this game I knew not to expect a high budget, mainstream game. I am a huge fan of indie games so taking the time to play this game was exciting. The game does not require an installation but requires the resolution to be set to 800×600. I was disappointed at first but noticed the low resolution fits perfectly with the retro graphics.

After spending time playing I only have one issue: the controls. I noticed the controls were slightly sluggish and didn’t feel as responsive as I was expecting. When playing for a while you can get used to the controls, but fixing this issue would definitely increase the gameplay value.

Aside from the controls this game is fun. The graphics fit with the game environment and remind me of a classic Sega Genesis game (from my favorite era of video games). The music is original and definitely stands out. It is very easy to adapt to and it isn’t complicated at all. The casual players will like how easy it is to adapt to the game environment while the hardcore gamers will like the game more for its story.

Magnus: Operation Hard Drive can be downloaded from various different distributing websites as well as Outer Space Studios’ main website, http://outer-spacestudios.com/. While the lite version is available and free, the full version can be purchased at the low cost of $2.99 once it is ready.

Arachnophobia

nec — Wed, 06 Apr 2011 12:09:19 +0000

Arachnophobia is a real time tactical game in which you command a squad in charge of infiltrate warehouses infested by giant spiders. Endlessly attacked, you have to advance your team step by step up to the objective and come back alive to the extraction point.

Move your soldiers to strategic positions to make them resist assaults from spiders.
Make them cover each other.
Move carefully, but not too much because your ammunitions are limited.
Choose the weapon that fit the situation.
And above all … bring your team alive to the extraction points.

Inspired from old board games like Space Hulk and driven by an original sound track. Arachnophobia is pure indie.

12 levels and 4 kinds of different mission.

Screenshots

Download

Puzzle Bots Review

Ashley King — Wed, 11 Aug 2010 19:31:56 +0000

Most everyone at some point in their life has wanted to own a robot, from the days of the Jetson’s gracing our television sets with their numerous robotic contraptions to those weird yapping robot dogs that seem to drift across the ocean from Japanland every year. Robots hold a unique fascination within our society and Erin Robinson has only served to further that fascination with her latest game, Puzzle Bots.

Puzzle Bots is an adventure game that features five curious robots on a mission to find out what’s up with Dr. Hugo, the boss himself. There are five different robots to control, each created by a different employee at Dr. Hugo’s factory and each with a different purpose in mind, from the ability to swim to lighting objects on fire with a flamethrower. Each robot has its own personality and abilities and utilizing all five of them in order to complete the devious puzzles is absolutely necessary.

After escaping from their enclosure, the robots decide early on that something is wrong at Dr. Hugo’s factory and decide to investigate the cause of his strange behavior. Soon a massive plot threatening the existence of the entire company is uncovered and the robots bring you along for the ride as they attempt to make things right in the world of robot inventors. The game’s sense of humor is decidedly unique and contains geeky but endearing dialogue with moments that will have you laughing as well as smacking your forehead as the story progresses.

While the humor is decidedly refreshing if not geeky, it’s not the only thing Puzzle Bots has up its sleeve. The point and click adventure scheme seems obvious at first as you have a single robot under your control, but as you progress and gain access to the other robots, you quickly see the value in having all of them available to solve the puzzles throughout the game. Each robot has a unique ability and only one ability, so utilizing all five in order to progress becomes essential and the search for the right robot can result in interesting dialogue between all robots involved.

The puzzles are not extremely challenging and they fit in with the theme of being extremely approachable by anyone, from kids to adults. However, you will need to pay close attention to everything that goes on around you so you can act accordingly. Though the puzzles are not hard and there is a hints system, Puzzle Bots nevertheless still manages to have a few moments of frustration since figuring out the puzzle is not immediately obvious and many times your pride doesn’t let you press the hint button.

Since the game is played entirely from the robots perspective, you will find yourself using small objects like cups and batteries to make things happen on a larger scale that eventually attracts the attention of the humans in the game. The robots share some interesting dialogue amongst themselves as they watch the humans and the trading of speculation as to what the humans are doing is one reason the game is so enjoyable. Ordinary every day objects become spectacular to the robots, with a toaster making an appearance as a giant robot, while spools of tape can be used to bridge gaps in a work bench.

The cartoon style graphics hold a unique charm of their own and it is almost as if you are playing your favorite Saturday morning cartoon as you watch the story unfold between puzzles. There is also a unique collection system incorporated into the game that lets you take the initiative to find new pieces of furniture for your robot abode. With 8 pieces to collect, hunting around the various screens for these new pieces of furniture can be a challenge in and of itself. Aside from the graphics, the voice acting is pretty solid, though the lines and interactions between several of the characters tend to be pretty geeky with just a sprinkling of charm. Even the robots have their own voices, though they communicate through a series of beeps and noises.
The controls of Puzzle Bots could stand to use some improvement, as working in close quarters with five robots on the screen can lead to you switching several times between the robots without meaning to do so. Other than the control problems, the animation during the human interaction scenes can be a little coarse, but given the cartoony style of the game, these animation glitches hardly take much away from the experience. My biggest problem with the game was the fact that there was no option to play in windowed mode, which means the game stretched across my rather huge monitor, making everything extremely pixelated.

If you enjoy light-hearted humor with a bit of a brain twist thrown in every now and then, by all means give Puzzle Bots a try. You’re sure to get a few laughs out of the robot’s various interactions and the puzzling gameplay will satisfy anyone.

Pros:

Brain twisting Puzzles, Great Humor

Cons:

no windowed mode option, controls could be difficult

Rating:

83%

Vizati

David — Wed, 16 Jun 2010 11:44:55 +0000

Vizati is a puzzle game that will put your mind to the test.
You have to rotate a magical cube to connect (group) the little vizati stones by color and figure out the best way to do it with a limited number of rotations/moves.
You can play the Story Mode and follow the story between Julie and Peter who discovered the Vizati cube, or play the Arcade Mode,
which is a rawer, faster and even more teasing mode.

Key Features:

Use gravity to make the stones connect by rotating and flipping the Vizati cube
50 Story Levels
Rich art style hand drawn in HD (720p)
Beautiful music
Arcade mode with special Vizati stones
2 distinct Arcade modes
Support for Xbox360 controller

Bionic Heart

Mike Gnade — Fri, 14 May 2010 19:13:57 +0000

Download the Demo

London, 2099. The earth isn’t what it used to be anymore. Incredible climate changes have corrupted the weather, causing a permanent rain on most of the Earth’s surface.

You play the role of Luke Black, a 36-year-old bio-informatic engineer. He is one of the lead programmers at Nanotech, a big nanotechnology research company.

But one night, his life is changed forever when he encounters Tanya. Who is she? What does she wants from Luke?

Purchase the full version to see all 24 different endings and explore all the possible paths! It’s a truly dynamic adventure that will keep you entertained for hours.

The game is fully voiced and features beautiful manga art, brilliant dialogue and characters relationship that will change the final outcome of the game.

Steam Brigade

Mike Gnade — Fri, 07 May 2010 18:24:36 +0000

Download the Demo

Steam Brigade is a side-scrolling, real-time strategy game set in an alternate history where airships and steam-powered tanks rule the battlefield. It’s an older indie game, but it’s definitely worth your time and purchase. It’s incredibly unique and has a really sweet art style. Check it out.

On Trial: Ziro

Mike Gnade — Tue, 13 Apr 2010 17:51:46 +0000

Click on the Screenshot to download the free pc demo

Erika: 7
Who would have known that a puzzle game involving dice, ice and blocks could be so much fun? Ziro is, indeed, an interesting puzzle game in which players must direct sets of dice in order to match like-numbered pairs. The casual gameplay makes Ziro easy to pick up and play, but its difficulty level quickly ramps up to excruciating. Even so, this difficulty does not take away from the experience. My one gripe would be the lack of direction in the game. Gameplay instructions are limited and only appear before the first level. This is frustrating if you’re like me and want to have a second look while playing. Ziro may be fun and easy to pick up, but at $9.99, you’re better suited at playing the demo.

Sam: 7
Ziro is a unique puzzle game with lots of polish. You match blocks with the same value by sliding them together and combining them, removing them from the board. More points are rewarded for removing all the blocks in fewer moves or less time. The puzzles in the demo were straightforward, with only a few taking more than one attempt on Medium difficulty. The blocks have heft and weight, making satisfying clinks as they move about the board. The music is upbeat and the graphics are bright and cheery. The puzzles got somewhat repetitive, but they were entertaining the first time.

Peter: 8
I’m not sure that I really want to learn about global warming while playing a game, but at least the gameplay in Ziro is pretty solid. The point of the game is to clear a board of dice. Equal dice cancel each other out, while nonequivalent dice combine to become larger or smaller. That would be challenging enough, but the dice slide in one direction until they hit a wall, so you have to work pretty hard just to get the dice close enough together just to combine them. It’s challenging, but not too frustrating, and it’s worth a try.

Mike: 7
The graphics and presentation are solid in Ziro. It has a pretty slick 3-D engine that allows you to rotate the world and shows off the game’s polish. The great attention to detail and production extends to the game’s music and sound, but ultimately the sliding dice thing just wasn’t for me. Ziro is a unique puzzle game for the casual market with a decent core mechanic and excellent production quality.

On Trial: Trio the Great Settlement

Mike Gnade — Tue, 23 Mar 2010 18:57:18 +0000

Click to Download the Free PC Demo

Erika: 7
TriO: The Great Settlement is yet another title implementing the physics-based puzzle concept. In the game, players are expected to free magical creatures called Orbics by dropping them to combine three of the same colour. Instead of landing squarely on top of another Orbic, physics will make columns topple and lean so some strategy in where to drop your Orbic is required. Let me just say right now, Orbics are really freaky looking creatures. They are living, breathing emoticons full of magical energy. They aren’t the cutest of creatures, but somehow I was compelled to save them and play through each increasingly difficult level. While the game takes few risks, the gameplay is rewarding and is, at most, deserving of a free, one hour download.

Sam: 5
Trio is a “match three” game, where you drop blocks on other blocks of the same color, trying to form groups of three or more. What makes Trio different is that blocks have a simple physics model, with gravity and friction, so you can hit another block to make it drop down and make a match. The blocks are Orbics, little trapped colored spheres that you free by matching them. Once they’re free, they will wander around a clearing where you can build houses and amenities for them with the money you earn completing levels, but there’s no real reason to. Trio adds nothing that hasn’t already been done before.

Peter: 7
If you can get past the creepy faces on the orbic people you’re saving in Trio, there’s a deceptivly clever match-the-color puzzler here. While these kinds of games aren’t my cup of tea, the sticky, physics-based maneuvering is comfortably predictable. Because the blocks are a little slippery, and three of a color only have to be near each other to be cleared, it’s possible to force the caged orbs together, which feels pretty good. And the town building you do between stages is a nice break from the main game.

Mike: 6
Trio is a match-3 game with a physics twist. The presentation, graphics, and music are good, but forgettable. The only problem here is that unlike most games, physics negatively impacts the gameplay when it comes to match 3. The way the boxes stick to each other and fall over makes it difficult to setup long chains and combos.

On Trial: Anka

Mike Gnade — Tue, 09 Mar 2010 18:46:28 +0000

Click to Download the Free Demo

Erika: 7

The story begins with our young hero, Anka, whose goal is to free his mother from a crime she did not commit and find his missing father. In between this story, players are asked to solve brainteasers in order to progress through the game. Simple enough, but what this adventure-puzzle game lacks is focus. The need to repeatedly visit people and locations in order to gain certain items throughout the game adds to more frustrations. Despite there being some good ideas, Anka takes a lot of missteps in gameplay. You’re better off simply playing the demo.

Sam: 5
Anka is an adventure game. You control a young boy doing everyday chores, like finding the door handle that you tore off and threw on the roof, or finding the 40 eggs you hid in and around the house. These Basic tasks require mini-games. Want to read a recipe? Solve a crossword puzzle. The other tasks are more like traditional adventure game puzzles. They involve a lot of pixel hunting and combining unlikely objects. Trying to fix a hole in a boat? Use a frog, a broken bottle of honey, and bees. The puzzles range from obvious to illogical. However, the environments are detailed, and none of the items are too hidden.

Peter: 3
Anka is a point-and-click puzzler with well-drawn, anime-style characters and various minigames. The first thing I had to do was search the pixels for 40 eggs, which was frustrating and boring. Then I did a tile puzzle and a word search. While the art is well-executed, neither it nor the puzzles offer anything new or challenging. It seems like the target audience is children who can’t handle simple game mechanics, and I guess there is some appeal in that.

Stew: 8
In spite of myself, I liked Anka. A sickly sweet tale of a chipper lad occupying an equally honey toned world, it’s the sort of game that would usually make me puke. That said, at its core Anka is less about some brat’s “adventures” and more about playing mini-games and solving puzzles. The mini-games especially impressed me. While none are especially groundbreaking or complex, they are all fun and well done. I could actually imagine several being sold as standalone products and to its credit, Anka has them all under one roof, available for play whenever you like. In short, Anka is an attractive package for casual gamers, if you can get past the Care Bears sentimentality.