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Cardinal Quest For Free

Today, you can get a fun little roguelike game called Cardinal Quest for free, if you use the coupon code one of the developers tweeted. You go to the purchase site, type in the code, put in your info and get the download links. The download is a 15MB .zip file with the game in it. It’s a fun deal, right? I mean, every logical atom in my brain says it’s a deal. I got a game for free which I would have to pay a few bucks for otherwise.

Pirate PC

Pictured: Piracy was a cultural thing in Croatia.

Piracy Broke My Brain

My pirate brain disagrees, though. Yeah, it’s free. But it would have been just as free had I pirated it. I wouldn’t officially own it, but what do I really own now? All I got was the executable and the receipt, nothing else. On the other hand, when I bought Avadon the other day, I got the game and the receipt to, but I also got some other stuff. I got the achievements on steam. I got it added to my Steam account so all my friends can see I own and play it. Some of you might find this funny, but as someone who has pirated for most of his life, just owning something on paper doesn’t mean anything. This is why it was easy for me to pirate. I get the same experience as everyone else, with no investment needed.

A pirate needs a reason to pay for a game, and added bonus on top of the stuff he can get for free. This is why even hardcore pirates sometimes buy a game or two. Maybe it has really good multiplayer, or it’s online only, or maybe it has fun account bound achievements which increase the gameplay value. Heck, even a nice box with a detailed manual full of game lore can be motivation enough. Any of those things increase the joy of buying a new game. This “discount”, on the other hand, brought no joy to my pirate brain. I will probably have some fun with the game, and I am very grateful to the developers, but my base “urges” aren’t something I control here. It’s just how it is, because I’m still a pirate at heart.

It’s Hard to Wrap Your Head Around That

So what am I trying to say? I don’t know, really, probably nothing. I’m just trying to explain how an (ex-)pirate like me thinks. Maybe a developer/publisher somewhere will read this and devise a new strategy of influencing people to buy the game. This probably won’t happen, but I can dream, right? Steam is doing a pretty good job, though.

The sense of community and the achievements it brings to games is actually pushing people in my area of the world to pay for something they never even considered paying for before. Notch did a good job with Minecraft to. Yeah, 99% of the game can be experienced without a legit copy, but an online account with instant updates and a promise of extra features in the future has convinced me and plenty of my friends to pay.

So, once again, thanks, Ido Yehieli, for making your game free for today. I will greatly enjoy it. Sorry my pirate brain isn’t grateful, but be assured that my reasonable side is.

Links

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I started this one recently, but then I reached my decision.Since it was a pirated copy, it had to go and I was sad. Luckily, it was on a discount at Steam yesterday (might still be, haven’t checked) and I bought it for 3.50€. It was a good investment and it will keep me entertained for a long time. How do I know this? Because it’s made by Spiderweb, and their Exile/Avernum and Nethergate games rock. Their Geneforge series is OK to, but not my cup of tea.

Redbeard of Avadon: The Black Fortress

This is Redbeard

Anyway, I didn’t go too far last time, so I decided to restart the game. It’s a completely new world, but somewhat similar in style to Avernum. I took my time to read all the dialogs, and learn some lore about the world. Apparently, Avadon is this big important fortress that watches over all of the kingdoms in an alliance. This alliance of kingdoms is surrounded from all sides by the nations of the Farlands, if I recall correctly. A guy named Redbeard runs this fortress and commands the Eyes, the Hearts and the Hands. The Eyes are guards and watchmen, the Hearts are commanders and advisors to Redbeard and the Hands are his agents, which he sends on various important missions. The player is one of these Hands and he has just started serving.

Also, from what I understood from a conversation, the position of the fortress “controller” gives Redbeard power and anyone who kills him replaces him on this position. Plenty of people have tried, but no one succeeded.

I decided to play with a Sorceress, the default one, though I can’t remember her name right now. I introduced myself to the staff, learned a bit about the lore and got my first mission – enter the dungeons below the fortress and stop a prisoner escape in progress. I also got a choice of one of two companions – a warrior and another sorceress. I’m playing on normal, so I decided to go crazy and run with to spellcasters. It worked out fine – it was quite easy actually, so I’m considering raising the difficulty level.

I’ve cleared the dungeon, disposed of a few prisoners and returned to the ground level. One of the Hearts sent me to meet Redbeard, which I did (and got a medal for it) and then I was assigned to my second mission – go to another town and do some stuff there. Honestly, I can’t remember right now what my second mission is and that was where I stopped playing, so I will give a better description in my next post.

In any case, Avadon is a nice, fun, old school game, which I think I will greatly enjoy.

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The Review: Did Terraria Hold Up Well With the Times?

Terraria hit it really big on release, with people often even calling it a 2D Minecraft, but better and, to be honest, I was one of those people. The game was new, it was fresh, and Minecraft updates were getting sporadic. Of course, it has been getting great reviews because of it, and had I written one, it would have been great to.

Now, a few months later, my perspective is a bit different. Don’t get me wrong. I still think the game is great. It’s fun to play, there are plenty of things to do in it, plenty of room for creativity. The fact that it’s 2D makes it easier for the developers to add a heap of stuff in every update, to change and improve on the mechanics, to increase the complexity and freedom of controls, without actually making them to complex.

What it doesn’t have, though, is that special something which compels you to keep playing. I went through the notions. I dug deeper and deeper, gathered stronger weapons and armor, killed the bosses and once all that was done, the game went on a figurative shelf. A patch would get some more stuff and I would start it up again to try it out, but that’s about it.

Minecraft, on the other hand, I still play regularly. Even when there’s months between patches, I still visit my base, build a new tower or explore another cave. I still get ideas on what to do next and what projects to start. With Terraria, this simply does not happen. I don’t know why this is.

At a glance, the games are nearly identical, especially now with the 1.8 update of Minecraft. Maybe it’s the lack of a dimension. Maybe because it’s 2D, the game doesn’t instill that “create & explore” desire that Minecraft lives on. In any case, both games are worth the money, only Minecraft is worth a bit more.

The Verdict

Score: 8/10

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The Review: A Bastion of Gaming

OK, Skyrim will have to try extremely hard to take the “personal game of the year” title from this game. There, no surprises left in this review. I loved every little thing about this game and it’s really hard for me to find a real flaw. Let’s try, though.

The graphics in Bastion look beautiful. Everything is hand drawn, colorful, sharp and shiny. The levels are detailed, the characters even more so, and the enemies look unique and interesting. Everything is also very well animated, with plenty of frames for each movement. Nothing looks choppy or half-made. There’s also plenty of variation in the art for each level, so it doesn’t get boring, even for a second.

Bastion Wallpaper

Courtesy of Supergiant Games – a Wallpaper.

The music is where the game really shines, though. The soundtrack has that Firefly/Western/Country atmosphere, with a bit of an eastern touch in some of the songs. Honestly, this is the first game where I’m actually considering getting the soundtrack. The sound effects are not that notable, but with the amazing soundtrack, they don’t need to be.

The story is the unique thing that Bastion brings to the table. Every minute of gameplay is narrated by an old man with a great voice. I’m not talking just about cut scenes here. Every notable thing you do is described by the narrator. This improves on the atmosphere even more than the music. It makes you connect to the protagonist and really think hard about his your actions, while also keeping you interested in how it will all fold out. There’s also an ending changing choice you make right before the end of the game which adds to the replay value a bit, unless you are like me and go to YouTube to see the alternative ending.

The gameplay is not perfect, but I find it pretty close. The only real critique I could find is that maybe the controls could be a bit better. You see, the camera perspective is isometric and most of the movement is diagonal. This would be fine if the game assigned diagonal directions to the keyboard, but up remains up, causing you to awkwardly hold up and left to move north, for instance. It’s not that bad, and it personally didn’t cause me any trouble, but I see people complaining and this is a valid reason. Still, If I’m not mistaken, a patch was released which addresses this, but I haven’t tried it because I completed the game well before that.

The game is basically an RPG, but a pretty simple one. More levels simply equate to more health and more spirit slots. Spirits are various alcoholic beverages which give you special bonuses if you equip them. Other than that, you have two weapon slots and a special attack slot. There are several weapons in the game and each plays differently. Each can also be upgraded five times, choosing between two different upgrades every time. Once you buy an upgrade level, though, you get to choose between the two options as many times as you want. The special attacks are very varied, but they don’t get upgraded or anything of the sort.

The Verdict

Well, that’s it. Once again, this is a great game that I recommend anyone to buy. If your computer isn’t top notch, you have one more reason to do it, since it’s not that demanding, being 2D. Highly, highly recommended!

Meaningless Score: 9.5/10

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The Story of Emberwind

The kingdom of Grendale is being invaded by gremlins and it is up to you to save the day. You are Kindle, the only fire gnome amongst the gnomes of Grendale and the local watchman. With the help of your inventions and your snow owl friend, Wick, you can achieve this.

The Review: What is Emberwind?

Emberwind is an action platformer that has Super Nintendo written all over it. You go around and whack gremlins with your staff, unlock new moves and abilities, collect gems and other treasures and save the people of Grendale by lighting lamps and fireplaces to scare away and destroy the gremlins. As you progress, you increase your health by acquiring treasure and your strength by finding and freeing hidden fairies on each level. Every now and then, if you look hard enough, you can also unlock a new move which will allow you to jump further or higher, avoid taking damage, discover new ways to deal damage, or move faster.

Emberwind is incredibly polished. The graphics are old school and if I didn’t know better, I’d swear the game is from the Super Nintendo. The sprites are drawn nicely, the characters have great animations and there really is nothing about the look of the game you could complain about.

The music of Emberwind is orchestral and atmospheric, and it makes you feel heroic from the beginning to the end. The sounds fit the characters well, and none of it is bothersome like in some other games. Again, the game sounds like it should belong on a 16-bit console and this is a major plus for me.

The basic premise of Emberwind is simple. You get an objective for each level which you need to complete while scoring as many points and finding as many secrets as possible, and then you return to your owl and leave the level. At the end of each area, there is a boss, and you also get a flying level here and there. It’s really worth it to find as many secrets you can, since points give you extra health bubbles, while other collectibles increase your strength and other abilities. The game also tracks your time for each level, and you can revisit previous levels to beat your old records, which will also grant you extra points.

The Verdict

All in all, Emberwind is a great and polished game, definitely worth playing.

Score: 9/10

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The Review: What is Hammerfight?

Wow, this one actually surprised me! When I read that Hammerfight a physics game where you use mouse gestures to control your character, I expected an interesting gimmick that will grow old fast and just get in the way of the game. I couldn’t have been more wrong.

In Hammerfight, you control a flying vehicle with a huge weapon attached to it, usually a boulder on a chain or something similar. You use your mouse to move and to swing your weapon around and hit stuff. Now, this might sound a bit tedious, but it really works great. The physics are on point and it really does feel like you are actually hitting stuff. I have played the game for a few levels and, while it is hard, it never felt like it was hard because of the controls.

I didn’t get far enough, but it also seems that, later on, you get to customize your flying machine and weapons with various gems. Even without this, the game feels fun, but I have to say, I’m looking forward to that part.

The visuals and the story of Hammerfight are another great plus. The story seems detailed and interesting, the graphics look decent, with lots of attention to detail, and the music creates a great atmosphere. There are places in the game where you can chose which way to go, which also adds some replayability. In any case, a fun game. I recommend!

The Verdict

Score: 8.5/10

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The Review

Ancient Trader plays more like a board game than anything else. You select a scenario, each with different winning conditions, start with a small ship and begin trading. You go from port to port, buy low and then sell high, all while collecting treasure, fighting mythical sea creatures and avoiding or defeating other captain’s. You can get quests from ports for extra cash, buy some powerful artifacts and upgrades your ship’s weapons, cargo hold and speed.

Ancient Trader also quite pretty, and everything looks like a hand drawn ancient map. The effects are fine and the music fits well with the package.

Sounds fun, right? Well, not so much. You see, Ancient Trader is extremely simplified. You only have three types of merchandise, only three types of weapons which follow a rock – paper – scissor system, and that’s about it. Once you complete a single map, you’ve pretty much seen everything there is to see. Now, the game does support hotseat multiplayer, so that might be fun, but that’s about it. It’s pirates diluted to the point of not being fun anymore, at least not for me.

I know people hate that word, but I think an accurate description would be to say that the game is extremely “casualized”.

The Verdict

Score: 5/10, maybe 7/10 if hotseat turns out to be fun.

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Hardware issues, exams, Cataclysm released… I’m sorry to say, but this time, the only reason I haven’t been posting on this blog is because I really haven’t played anything other than WoW for ages.

Two days ago, I finally tried one new game – Super Meat Boy. It’s pretty cool and fun, extremely funny, but not something I intend to finish to fast. The levels are short and fast-paced, so the game is perfect when you have a few minutes to kill. I managed to complete one world and a few levels on the next one, but that’s about it.

Super Meat Boy Character Art

It’s Super Meat Boy!

Other than that, I played nothing, really. I tried a few games, but nothing of note or worth writing about. Since I also won’t be seriously playing anything for a while, I’m thinking about adding some other content to the blog. Maybe I will do some reviews or info on various indie games not many know about. We shall see…

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Installed it on Saturday, completed it today.

The game, like most CoD games, is very story driven, so I didn’t really want to spoil it to the few readers I have. Anyways, It’s a blockbuster, like all of the recent games in the series. There is nothing revolutionary in there, but the presentation is great and It’s really fun to play. The campaign doesn’t drag for to long and it ends before it gets boring or tedious.

I had issues with some minor bugs, but nothing I couldn’t handle.

Really, there is nothing to say. It’s a good, fun game to play and if you played any of the previous games because of the campaign, you should play this one. As for multiplayer, I’m not into it, so I can’t comment on that. Should you buy it? I’m not sure. It can easily be completed during rental, so if, like me, you don’t care about the multiplayer, maybe you should skip buying it.

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After lots and lots of justice dispensing and pure, 100% heroism, I managed to rescue 6 out of the total of 8 orphans, but the major still wasn’t satisfied. I also made a unicorn crap himself, helped a Leprechaun escape from the Leprechaun mafia, helped a guy build a high class village for the rich and wealthy, brought some stone and dirt for food for a really, really poor village, reconciled a smelly farmer and his wife, killed some demons, exorcised a village full of ghosts, killed a bunch of orques and all kinds of truly, truly heroic stuff.

More DeathSpank Art

A truly heroic man, that DeathSpank.

Since the major would do nothing, I decided to try and go find the other two orphans, at the castle of lord von Prong, the big boss behind the artifact and orphan theft. As luck would have it, they were looking for the remaining six orphans so, since I already had them, they decided to lower the drawbridge and let me in. I killed a bunch of orques in there, saved the last two orphans and ran into a locked gate.

I decided to go and return all of the orphans to the major, who organized a huge press conference, got some major publicity for his election and, in the end, instead of giving me the promised 100 000$, game me an I.O.U., stupid major. I went to talk to the old retarded grandpa to ask how to open the locked gate and, more importantly, how to defeat lord von Prong. He said that I need a sword, the Pronginator 3000 or something, and he will make it for me, if I get him the ingredients. He needs some 6×6 plain pelt, a lock of von Prong’s hair and some demon ore.

First I went and got the ore from the Demon Mines, that was easy enough. Then I went to look for the pelt salesman on the road east of town. He wasn’t on his usual spot, but I did find some dragon poo there, and more of it down the road. I followed the trail of poo to an old orc camp, where I found and defeated the dragon. Turns out, the dragon ate the salesman, so he climbed out of him now. I bought the plain 6×6 piece of pelt, and all that was left was the lock of hair. I remembered there’s a wig that von Prong wore in his museum so I went to try and take it, but the guards wouldn’t let me touch it. I asked them when they are leaving and they said at pi’o’clock, when it’s lunch time. I spoke to the guy next to the clock outside, but he wouldn’t ring the bell, since it wasn’t pi’o’clock yet. He also said that there’s a song that the lord usually sings which always brakes the clock, so I went back to the museum and played the song on the record player there. The clock shattered and the orque outside asked me what time it is. I said it was pi’o’clock, so he rang the bell and the guards went for lunch.

I took the hair and brought all of the stuff to the retarded grandpa. He gave me the sword, so I went back to the castle, where I promptly kicked von Prong’s ass. The mysterious, yet strangely attractive red-haired woman appeared again and thanked me for killing von Prong. However, she also said my mission is not over and revealed that von Prong was wearing the same type of thong DeathSpank was wearing. The difference is, my thong gave me the power to be the dispenser of justice and a hero to the downtrodden, while his just corrupted him. Anyways, there are more people in the world with the same thongs, so I have to deal with them to.

That, however, is a story for another time, since the narrator is really tired now.

THE END.

A Poster for DeathSpank 2 - Thongs of Virtue

A Poster for DeathSpank 2 – Thongs of Virtue

Anyways, see you guys in the next episode…