The Binding of Isaac

The Binding of Isaac

An arcade game with a dark theme, boss fights, and many power ups.

Overview

I've played a lot of arcade games in my life. They can be fun, but small innovations aren't enough to keep me interested in the genre as a whole. 

The Binding of Isaac isn't fundamentally different from any twin stick shooter, like Robotron. Since I basically have negative feelings about the game, let's go over what it's good at:

Theme

The dark humor theme is unique but it isn't engaging in a significant way. Even if you think tampon weapons and aborted fetus monsters are funny, it's a quick laugh at best. One episode of South Park has more irreverent humor than this entire game.

Powerups

While powerups are nothing new in the action genre, The Binding of Isaac has a whole lot of them with a large variety of effects. 

Boss Fights

There are a fair number of bosses to fight to keep the game interesting. How you beat them can be influenced by the powerups you have.

The Bad

There is nothing specifically bad about the game. I personally don't like the feel of the action. The hitboxes are unclear, movement is a little too fast and awkward. Your shots have a weird type of momentum. I don't care for the theme.

But all of that is subjective. What damns the game to me is that I have more fun playing free flash games or iphone games than I do playing The Binding of Isaac. There are a million games out there to let me mindlessly shoot things. The only thing Isaac has going for it is a cult following that exploded into a pop-culture phenomenon. 

Should You Buy It?

If all your friends play it and you want to talk "strategy" with them, then yes. If you want to play the best action game out there, then skip it. If you just want to shoot monsters, go find something free to play.

SanctuaryRPG

SanctuaryRPG

A simple ascii adventure game.

Overview

Sanctuary is a cute RPG that makes extensive use of ascii art. You choose a class, grab a weapon, kill monsters to get loot and gain levels so you can kill tougher monsters to gain better loot... you get the idea. There is a plot and many different random encounters.

Gameplay

Most of what you do is combat. You have a few choices, but generally you just enact your combo moves over and over. Every so often you need to dodge or throw an ultimate. You might occasionally heal or use another special move. I only got far with the Ranger and his gameplay was extremely simple.

In addition to fighting, there are a lot of things you find in a typical RPG. For example, there is a store, crafting, some sort of alignment/allegiance system, and small side quests.

In the typical mode of play, you get a single life. If you mess up and die, the game is over. There is no save game. It is easy to save scum, but don't do that, just play a different mode.

My Impression

I'm kind of amazed at how many features they put into this simple game, but then I remember my first decent RPG, Wizardry, and it was similar.

Combat with a ranger was so boring and repetitive, it was a chore to beat the game. I didn't look into the autoplay options. Crafting is kind of fun, but not all that involved. Same with the other mini features, like owning a tavern and the arena.

The plot of the game was just silly. You fight demons, robots, skeletons, bats, and pools of slime. The humor relied mostly on being farcical and was rarely clever. Still, there was an occasional reference that made me crack a smile.

I'm not a big fan of the basic combat. It is pretty close to cheesy web games or Final Fantasy.

Should You Buy This Game?

I think I paid less than $2 so it's hard to say it's a bad deal. It doesn't take long to install and get started. If you think you might like the off-the-wall humor or the ascii art style, go for it. Otherwise, there are thousands of better games out there, and many are literally free.

Hacknet

Hacknet

A hacking simulator.

Overview

Play as a hacker trying to solve a mystery or avenge a death, or something. I didn't get very far into the plot. Mostly you use console commands on a simplified UNIX system to hack into servers and copy or destroy files.

The basic game is a combination of a story being told with some server hacking. A few other systems are used, like email and bulletin boards.

My Impression

It was interesting at first but got repetitive very quickly. I didn't get far enough into the game to see if it got more detailed. I'm already comfortable with UNIX so using a gimped version didn't make me feel like a hacker. I'm not especially versed in hacking but I know a little about security, and this game didn't teach me much.

I only spent about three hours before deciding Hacknet is not for me.

Should You Buy It?

Maybe. It has good reviews. The story wasn't anything new to me but I've read my share of hacker novels. If you don't know anything about UNIX or sever security you might learn something. It gets cheap during Steam sales so even though it only entertained me for an hour or two, it wasn't a waste of money.

Far Cry 3

Far Cry 3

This is my first Far Cry game. I enjoyed it quite a lot.

Overview

Far Cry has been around a while so I'm only going to hit the highlights. 

At it's core, Far Cry is a first person shooter. Everything else the game does is secondary to putting the enemy in the crosshairs. 

While combat and slaughter is the basis of Far Cry, there is a whole lot more going on. Most missions can be accomplished more easily through stealth than frontal assault. It looks like there are many styles of play available -- for example I didn't like the obvious choice of assault rifle and preferred a light machine gun for general firepower. I hated using the bow, but some people swear by it. The flamethrower is lots of fun and you could build an entire play style around it. I talked with one guy who used two of his four slots for different sniper rifles.

The crafting system is decent. There are skill trees, money, and a large variety of weapons that can be improved. 

In addition to the main storyline there are tons of secondary and tertiary objectives. A completionist could spend hundreds of hours with this game.

My Reaction

I really enjoyed the plot. It was strong as satisfying but fairly unobtrusive when I wanted to play in the sandbox world. The minor characters in the game were well developed. 

The tower puzzles were neutral for me. I didn't especially enjoy them, but it was welcome variety from the usual mission that involves killing things.

The most fun for me was taking enemy camps. I would try for maximum stealth but usually I would get detected so it was satisfying when I could take a camp completely silently. If you go in guns blazing, they call for reinforcements and the camp becomes very tough unless you cheese it.

In general I'm a fan of the strong story 1st person shooter genre and this did not disappoint.

The Cons

Like most games that are build for consoles, I had to change the field of view to avoid motion sickness.

The cut scenes where choppy for me despite a high framerate. I did some research and this is a fairly common problem on the PC. I never solved it, but it isn't too intrusive.

Because the game is cross platform, the interface isn't slick. I hate "hold E to interact". I want to just tap E. There were a few times I died because I would hold Q to heal but it didn't take. As far as cross platform interface goes, I'd say Far Cry is average. It's better than Assassin's Creed 3 and worse than Fallout 4.

The Game is Old, Should I Buy It?

Yes. At least by today's standards the graphics are quite decent. Everything else about the game is timeless. I will certainly buy Far Cry 4 the next time it is on sale.

Crypt of the Necrodancer

Crypt of the Necrodancer

A roguelike rhythm game.

Overview

Crypt of the Necrodancer brilliantly combines two genres, the roguelike and the rhythm game tied together with a weak story. To beat the game you must clear four zones each with three levels. After the fourth zone, you fight a boss to win. You start with two characters unlocked but there are about 10 in total. In that respect it's a roguelite. You don't level up or have stats. You do pick up items that can have a large impact. Levels are randomly generated and populated with monsters and loot. Each level even has an awesome Shopkeeper.

But wait, there's more. Each level plays a unique song and you can only move on the beat (although it's very forgiving). This is in stark contrast to a typical roguelike where you can spend minutes or hours pondering a single move. Because of this, Necrodancer feels more like an action game.

Comparision to Other Games

Difficult! This game is quite unique. But I'll give it a shot.

Rogue/Nethack/Crawl/Adom

Necrodancer is nothing like the original Rogue games. It doesn't have the depth and the gameplay is very different. It shares randomly generated content, a theme of dungeon exploration with levels, and multiple classes to play.

Dance Dance Revolution

The rhythm aspects are very much like DDR. However, DDR is more about precise timing and hitting the required direction. Crypt of the Necrodancer is more forgiving about timing, and generally you have a choice what direction to go. The big difference is that Necrodancer often requires complex tactical thinking while following the beat. Some monsters have patterns that make them easy to kill, but trying to handle multiple threats gets intense. You can play Crypt of the Necrodancer using a dance pad. Look it up on YouTube, it looks amazing.

Realm of the Mad Overlord

This shares the same level of roguelike. Overlord has more content and more character development, but they are both pretty lite. Overlord is a bullet-hell game where Necrodancer is rhythm.

My Reaction

I loved Crypt of the Necrodancer. I enjoy roguelikes and some rhythm games and it pairs the genres really well. I'm probably done with it now after 53 hours of play. Some of the characters and game modes are far beyond my skill.

Should You Buy It?

If you are patient like me you wait for sales. I think I bought it 75% off for $5. Totally worth it.

Diablo Season 12 -- Witch Doctor

Diablo

I used Season 12 as an opportunity to play the Witch Doctor. It was fun, but I suspect that's because the free set was a very powerful one. I have now played all of the classes at a high level, except Necromancer.

My favorites are Demon Hunter, Wizard, and maybe Witch Doctor. Eventually I will get around to playing Necromancer outside of Seasonal play.

Now that I have unlocked the maximum number of tabs, I doubt I will go back to playing seasonal. Since Diablo 4 is likely to be announced soon, I might not have much Diablo 3 left to play.

Check out my previous Diablo entry.

Batman: Arkham City

Batman: Arkham City

This is another review almost a year late.

Overview

Arkham City is an action fighting adventure game where you play Batman. You do missions to save the city.

Impression

Seems like a solid game, but I just don't care about Batman. Didn't finish it. Action seemed solid, voice acting was fantastic. Lots of dumb collection objectives that are so common these days.

Compare to Other Games

Shadows of Mordor

Very similar, but I much preferred Mordor. Combat is about the same. Batman had a stronger story if you are into Batman, which I am not. I finished Mordor and almost restarted it. Maybe even purchased the DLC, which is rare for me. I couldn't get a third the way through Batman.

Far Cry 3

I'm currently playing this one. It is far superior to Arkham City.

Tomb Raider

I really liked the Tomb Raider I played in 2013. The story is simpler but more engaging. I mean that I sometimes empathized with Lara Croft, where I could never suspend my disbelief for Batman. 

Assassin's Creed

I have a love/hate relationship with Assassin's Creed. It feels like it was made for a console and is clunky on the PC. If it wasn't for that clunky feeling, I would easily recommend Assassin's Creed over Arkham City.

Should You Buy It?

Despite my negative review, the only real complaint is that I don't especially care about Batman. I've heard Batman fans really enjoy this game. No idea why I would enjoy Tomb Raider or Far Cry over it, but I do. I say, if you like Batman, this is a sold game.

The Red Solstice

The Red Solstice

The Red Solstice is a medium-light co-op action tactical bullet-hell game. Grab some friends (up to 8?) and get ready to kill aliens or zombies or nazis or whatever they are. 

Impression

I wanted to like this game, but it just didn't click well with my group. There was a little too much frustration at being out of ammo or dying too much or being unsure what to do. We probably should have learned the game single player before trying out with a group, but the single player game didn't hold my attention.

Recommendation

Play Alien Swarm instead.

Mordheim: City of the Damned

Mordheim: City of the Damned

This post is way overdue. It's been over a year since I've played it.

Mordheim is a genre that I really like. A few technical flaws prevent this game from being fantastic but it's still very enjoyable.

Overview

Mordheim is a tactical squad-based RPG with a strong storyline set in the Warhammer universe. It has a lot going for it.

Story and Setting

If you like the Warhammer fantasy setting, this game is spot on. Each of the campaigns capture the flavor of that race.

Campaign

The strongest feature is playing a campaign. It is so much fun to level up your units or watch them get scars and injuries. There are meaningful decisions about how to spend gold and who to train and when.

Tactical Combat

Perhaps the weakest element of this game is the tactical combat, but even so it's pretty good. The AI is smart enough to not do too much obviously stupid stuff. You have warriors, archers, mages, etc to put together combined strategies. Scenarios often start you off scattered so you must make decisions about whether to regroup, ambush the scattered enemy, or collect the loot that dots the map.

Flaws

The biggest flaw is that scenarios take too long. Maybe there is a setting to turn off animations and such, but even then there is a fair amount of fiddling around to maximize the use of your action points.

Another flaw is scenario end conditions. There is a lot of loot scattered around to pick up, but the scenario ends when the enemy fails a morale check. Sometimes you want to avoid beating the enemy too quickly so you have time to pick up more loot. It is very unsatisfying to me.

The third biggest flaw is that some scenarios can be buggy or just too large. One mission was huge and had teleport puzzles. I hated running around trying to map colors of teleporters to figure out what still needed to be explored. When the scenario bugged out and I had to start from the beginning, I rage quit.

Worth Buying?

To me, yes, absolutely. I'm not a total Warhammer fanboy but I do like the setting. This game is faithful to the RPG/Boardgame. It does a good job implementing my favorite features in one of my favorite genres. Unfortunately, because of some of the flaws I haven't finished a campaign. It just takes too long to play, at least the way I like to play.

Compare to Other Games

XCOM: This is a tough one. They have a lot of similarities. The campaign features of Mordheim are simpler but more enjoyable. The tactical combat in XCOM is cleaner, and ultimately I am willing to play an entire XCOM campaign but not a Mordheim one. To me, XCOM feels more snowbally -- if you win a lot you are likely to keep winning, but if you lose a few missions your game might become impossible. I suspect Mordheim has a better middle ground where you can still come back after losses. Ultimately I would recommend XCOM unless you prefer fantasy over sci-fi.

Civilization: Civ 4 was the last Civ that I really enjoyed. It's not exactly a campaign of squad based combat, but it has both tactical and a strategic elements. As king of the 4X genre, it's hard to recommend any game over it. If you don't care about exploration and city planning and want more squad based combat, Mordheim is a better choice.

Heroes of Might and Magic, Total War, or any other Squad Based Tactical Combat

For me most of those games miss the mark. I can't think of any game of this type I would recommend over Mordheim or XCOM. 

Destiny 2

Destiny 2

It's a fine AAA game that didn't hold my interest.

I'm pretty far behind in this review as it's been a few months since I've played. I was enjoying myself and then one day I didn't load it up anymore. 

Type of Game

Destiny 2 is a MMO 1st person shooter with loot. It's mostly co-op with some pvp. There is a strong story and three classes to play. Once you hit max level, the game turns into a loot grind like most MMOs. There are many different types of events to fit your preferred playstyle.

Opinions

For the most part I enjoyed the game play. The weapons are fun, the powers are fun, the encounters are fun. After max level, a lot of options opened up but after doing them all a few times, it felt repetitive. I have done plenty of grinding in Diablo and World of Warcraft and this felt about the same.

Compare to Other Games

Borderlands

I thought Borderlands 2 was an amazing game. I prefer it to Destiny 2 in all ways, except for the MMO part. If you like to play solo or with a friend, Borderlands is stronger. If you like a rich world with strangers, some raids, and some pvp, Destiny 2 is better.

Diablo 3

Diablo popularized the loot grind and continues to be king. For loot grind, Diablo 3 is superior to Destiny 2. Many unique artifacts, set items, ancient and primal make the loot grind a richer experience. 

But really, do you prefer 3rd person or 1st person? Because that playstyle preference is a big deal.

World of Warcraft

(Or any MMORPG)

RPGs have a much wider variety of character options. They also have more difficult raids that require precise team coordination. Game play is more about abilities, tactics, party balance and less about shooting accurately.

Overwatch

(Or any 1st person shooter)

I really like Overwatch so perhaps I am biased. It is a much more competitive game where your mistakes let your team down and your awesome plays turn defeat into victory. Overwatch PVP is far superior to Destiny PVP, but Destiny has many more different ways to play. If you just want to shoot things, play Overwatch.

Good Value?

Always a difficult question. You can get some amazing games cheap on Steam. You can already find Destiny 2 on sale sometimes. Buying a AAA game at full price is worth while if you want to be swept up in that initial rush of excitement. You are playing with a bunch of other early adopters. 

Destiny 2 is solid. If you buy AAA games, this one is a fine purchase. Not an amazing purchase, but no regrets.