My second day at PAX was a lot busier than Day 1, although at no point have I been as absolutely slammed as I will likely be during the next two days. With the exception of Dead Island 2 (which I saw yesterday), here’s some rough thoughts on all the games I spent some time with today.
Dead Island 2
In which I kill many zombies.
Dead Island 2 was playable on the showfloor but the demo provided really doesn’t give a lot of new information about the game. The first thing players will notice is that the “Island” part of the title is pretty much out the window. All the areas shown in the game take place in California rather than a fictional setting like the one featured in the original.
Despite a change in developer the game feels very much like a continuation of the first Dead Island, melee weapons still play a large role and wound up being my primary source of killing power during the ten minute demo. Other mechanics like the rage system and weapon combinations will make a return. I was unable to confirm whether or not the original game’s much maligned repair system will be included, but at the very least neither it or the equally hated fatigue mechanics from the first game made an appearance in the ten minute demo I played.
The demo didn’t feel super in depth but this definitely feels more like the game I wanted Dead Island to be the first time around.
Defense Grid 2
In which I protect my power cores.
I’m not usually one for tower defense games. The genre feels like it has mostly been relegated to ridiculous F2P mobile models and flash games on Kongregate. The Defense Grid series is probably at the head of a very short list of series that have managed to turn the model into a successful franchise.
While the story and art direction leave something to be desired Defense Grid 2 feels more feature rich than ever before.
I think the most intriguing mode added in Defense Grid 2 is called “DG Fighter”, in this mode two players both play an identical map simultaneously. The hook? When you kill an enemy on your map they will spawn in the same place on the other player’s map in a stronger form. This of course will change your strategy somewhat, now instead of placing turrets in the beginning of the level you’ll be more inclined to leave them somewhere near the end so your opponent will find enemy’s spawning directly in their base.
The game has lots of new features and is launching in just a few weeks on September 23rd so if you’re a fan of the original you should definitely go check this out.
Geometry Wars 3
In which I look pretty by exploding frequently.
When I first got an HDTV the original Geometry Wars was always my go-to game to show the thing off. The game’s unique control scheme and crazy visuals were a hallmark of the Xbox 360’s early days, and it’s hard to deny the game’s influence on many of the twin stick shooter titles we have today.
Then Geometry Wars 2 came out, and things got quiet for 6 years. Don’t get me wrong, the game wasn’t bad, but it also wasn’t the evolution that the series needed.
But now along comes Geometry Wars 3 with a fresh breath of life. The big change to the game’s mechanics lies with the 3D objects that now house all the game’s action on their exteriors. Playing Geometry Wars on a sphere is a lot harder than you might think. Because you can only see one side of the level at a time it’s sometimes very difficult to gauge where enemies are spawning and what position they’re taking up in relation to you.
I died a lot playing the demo, which is pretty much par the course for me when playing games in this series, but I also looked very spectacular while doing so, and I don’t really think you can ask for much more from Geometry Wars.
Cannon Brawl
In which I admit to liking an RTS.
Oh man do I like Cannon Brawl. The game was made in two years by two people and honestly looks and plays better than some games at the show with substantially more resources. In the game you take up half of a map and square off against an opponent on a mirrored side. You both control an airship which you’ll use to navigate the level and build different weapons and shields in an attempt to destroy the other player’s castle. Once missiles and turrets are built you will need to dock your airship with them to fire manually. After firing, each installation will have a cooldown which will give you time to go build more infrastructure or protect your side with items like shields. When one player’s castle finally explodes, the game is over.
The 2D battle layout feels reminiscent of titles like Worms and Scorched Earth, while the game’s emphasis on resource and upgrade management feels like something out of a strategy game. Cannon Brawl is a great example of taking a game that would normally have a large barrier to entry and making it accessible to anyone. I watched numerous small children pick up the game relatively easily, while at the same time I played a pretty competitive match against another fully grown player.
The game’s official release is right around the corner on September 19th. Even if you’re like me and generally aren’t fond of strategy titles I would highly suggest you check this one out.
Moonrise
In which I don’t utter the forbidden world.
Nobody said the word “Pokemon” while I was at the Moonrise booth. The inspiration is obvious but at the same time it seemed rude to make the comparison, but now that it’s just you and me here on the internet I can go ahead and say it.
For years the cry for a Pokemon MMO has fallen upon deaf ears. In fact Nintendo has even gone a step further and shut down attempts by fans to translate the game to a multiplayer crowd. It’s a shame because the model feels so perfectly suited to an online world.
But now Moonrise is here to scratch that itch and Undead Labs (the folks behind games like State of Decay) are hitting all the right notes to make this game addictive as hell. Players will find themselves catching up to 90 different creatures called “Solari” which they can take into combat both in a campaign style adventure mode and against other players online.
The game’s combat has a unique setup to it in that your trainer (or “Warden” as the game calls it) will be targetable on the battlefield amongst your creatures. If you knock out the enemy Warden, you win, if you wipe all his creatures that will count as a win too. Each player can have two Solari out at once during combat which means things can get pretty hectic pretty quickly.
Of course as you might predict, with the game launching on mobile the developer is looking to apply a F2P model to it. Nobody had any specific examples of what would be monetized or what the pricing structure would look like, the team did however emphasize that anything you could purchase with real money could also be earned through traditional gameplay. If the model really does turn out as fair as the developer thinks it will be then this could definitely become a hit.
Dragon Fin Soup
In which I become a shotgun wielding alcoholic.
Dragon Fin Soup is probably the biggest cocktail of different flavors that I played today. It’s a classic console RPG with Roguelike elements and a procedurally generated world. In short, it’s pretty damn lofty as far as first titles for a new studio go. The game looks great, characters are incredibly well drawn, the concept art is out of this world, and the 2D graphics have a great feel to them.
Unfortunately for me the game’s incredible art style didn’t quite match the gameplay on the show floor. Combat felt rough, menus needed a lot of optimization, etc. Now mind you the game is in alpha so there’s plenty of time to fix this kind of stuff up, but nevertheless the demo that I got definitely felt like it needed some polish. Because the game wasn’t fully optimized for a controller yet the developer came prepared with a touch screen and keyboard/mouse to complement it. I actually found it most convenient to use the touch screen, and it’s worth adding that the game will eventually be heading to tablets, so that might actually wind up being the best way to enjoy it.
For now, if you ask me, this one needs a little more time in the oven.
Fistful Of Gun
In which I choose my own control style.
Fistful of Gun has been around for a bit independently but was just barely picked up by its publisher Devolver. In fact the publishing deal is so new that when I registered to see the game at PAX it was simply listed as “Unnanounced Devolver Title”. I found the game’s sole developer Paul Hart nestled deep inside PAX’s Indie Minibooth which is contained within the Indie Megabooth (yeah I know).
Fistful of Gun is a topdown arcade shooter with a unique twist: you get to choose your control style. Now that might not sound like much of a twist but bear with me. The game features 11 different characters to choose from, each with their own unique control style. Four of the characters are built around they keyboard, four around a traditional Xbox 360 controller, and three of them use a mouse. Each character’s style is directly influenced by their input method, the mouse characters tend to have precision aim or control similarly to an RTS, the controller based characters feel a little more twitchy and generally compensate for their inaccuracy with scattershot or rapid fire.
Having so many characters and so many control options means you can fit a lot of people in the game. Hart commented that the theoretical maximum was 9 players at once but the game was really chaotic enough with just 2-3 players. Right now it sounds like the plan is to hopefully have the game ready by Q2 of next year so go ahead and start planning your crazy couch gaming party now.
I’ll keep trying to relay my thoughts as the show goes on, and we’ll likely spend some more time with some of these games after things have wrapped up and calmed down a bit. See you all tomorrow!
