Posts tagged with “procedural”

I’ve spent the better part of the past weekend playing through Borderlands, a new first person shooter with RPG elements from 2K. I had fun playing so here are my thoughts on the game.

What was interesting: I liked the Diablo similarities where you get procedurally generated loot for killing enemies. While it can be cumbersome at times to sort through all the drops it did certainly feel satisfying when you found the rapid-fire-rocket-launcher-of-lighting-your-enemy’s-face-on-fire. The tech tree part was fun too, I played as a Berserker and leveled up my ability to punch people to death instead of the tried and true shooting method. The missions that you picked up, while mostly formulaic, kept me engaged enough to want to keep playing to see what happened next. Finally, I really enjoyed the voice acting for a couple of the characters, especially the hillbilly who offers you vehicles (“Get you one!”)

What was ok: The vehicle sections were about as mediocre as I expected, and felt very reminiscent of Halo Warthog Jeep (alas, no flying motorcycle or tank). The plot was entirely throw away as far as I was concerned (I’m searching for some secret treasure vault? Who gives a shit?) but luckily the game didn’t really shove it down my throat too much. The game had a nice visual aesthetic with some cartoony/serious graphics, but after a while things started to blend together and I got tired of the whole junkyard look and feel. It’s too bad they didn’t explore different environments with different colors more! The boss fights were generally good, with some memorable tangles, but there were too few bosses to break up the game play.

What sucked: After a while things started to get a little bit repetitive, especially in the enemy department. By the end I was just playing for the sake of playing, not because I wanted to see the next exciting thing. Some of the fetch quests were kind of annoying too, especially when it clearly felt like a fetch quest.

What I missed: The multiplayer! Everyone tells me this is one of the best features of the game, but I only played through single player. After I find my gold trial I’ll give the co-op and death match modes a shot and see how they play out, I’m sure they’re a ton of fun.

Overall I think Borderlands was a lot of fun, and it appeals to me even though I’m not usually into FPS-es. I’d definitely recommend giving it a shot, especially if you like playing with friends. Accept its flaws and you’ll have a good time.

Canabalt is short, sweet, and a lot of fun. Created by Adam Saltsman and with music from Danny B (Benmergui?), you can play the whole game in about 10 seconds, but you’ll probably get addicted and keep going for an hour if you’re anything like me. Set in a post apocalyptic nightmare, you take the role of some well dressed dude just trying to run away. The game is incredibly simple – jump to avoid obstacles and clear the gaps between rooftops. That’s it. What makes the game so enjoyable is the sense of urgency that the developers manage to pack in, largely thanks to the music. It really feels like you’re in the Matrix, trying to outrun robots who will sooner or later destroy you. The fact that they managed to get that aesthetic in a game that is so simple (pixel graphics, grayscale coloring, one button controls) is pretty damn impressive.

So what’s extra cool about the game? The little touches are great – making the screen ratio 2.86:1 really works for the game, allowing you to see what’s coming up in the distance. The procedural level generation makes the game always feel new and fresh. The way that your character isn’t always centered vertically on the screen helps the sense of jumping and height as you dash from rooftop to rooftop. The way the smashing glass flys a distance proportional to your speed makes the world seem real. And that somersalt the hero does after a long drop is awesome.

Interestingly enough, the game is actually pretty accessible too, as it is a one button game. It loses some points for being so dependent on reflexes, but if you are a one switch gamer I would *strongly* recommend checking this game out.

My record so far? 4984 meters. Beat that Turnip!