Downloadable titles, I personally feel, are the future of how console gamers will digest their games. With consoles every year offering hard drives with more available space, the ability to save a full game locally and play off the hard drive is inevitable.
A steampunk alternate-history vertical bullet hell shooter. Jamestown is a very interesting concept and a very good indie game that’s worth getting if you ever get the chance. I had received the Humble Indie Bundle 4 from a generous person when it came out, and Jamestown, one of bundles titles, and I had overlooked it right away, though, after later installing it, I found a very good game.
Story
Jamestown is set in the 17th century on Mars, which has been colonized by the British and is in the middle of a war between the British, the Spanish, and the Martians. Walter Raleigh is the main protagonist, a fugitive who wishes to mount an assault on the Spaniards and the Martians to get a reprieve from his awaiting execution. That’s really as deep as it gets as shooters are generally about the gameplay and stylish graphics.
Graphics
As I mentioned, the graphics of Jamestown are quite stylish, combining steampunk with aliens. It is quite common for the steampunk genre to be set hundreds, even thousands of years ahead of schedule. The few human characters that appear have small cartoonish sprites, and the story sequences are told through a more detailed art style. Like all shooters, the special effects involve multiple explosions all over the screen as you make mincemeat out of the legions of targets regardless of their affiliation. The art is very stylish, and one of its strongest points.
Music
This is where Jamestown shines strongest, even above the gameplay. The music is one of the most incredible soundtracks I’ve heard from last year. The music uses many acoustic instruments and though the stages don’t fit to the music, it never seems to be out of place. The composer is Francisco Cerda who works from Chilie, and shows great promise as a composer. Though many shooters are partial to chiptunes, Jamestown went for an orchestrated sound that is a true pleasure to listen to.
Gameplay
Now to the meat of it. Jamestown is a bullet hell shooter inspired by developers like CAVE. Ever seen a Youtube clip called THE HARDEST VIDEOGAME BOSS EVER floating around? That’s the kind of genre Jamestown is in, but is not completely ridiculous in its difficulty.
Jamestown can be played singleplayer or with up to four people playing locally. The gameplay involves navigating one of four ships, each completely unique and of varying styles to clear the stage. Which one is the best is really down to your playing style and preference. As is standard for the genre, you destroy enemies, grab their drops, and get the high score. Grabbing enough drops fills up your Vaunt meter, and when activated you get an invincibility shield for a period of time as well as double points. Keeping the Vaunt meter filled during a Vaunt (what the Hell does Vaunt even mean?) is crucial to getting the highest scores.
Though Jamestown only has five stages total which are very short, the action is non-stop and of a good degree of challenge. Seasoned bullet hell shooter veterans will scoff at any difficulty setting this game can throw at them, but that brings me onto my next point. If you have seen videos of bullet hell games like Touhou or Mushihimesama, you would probably brand it impossible. Jamestown is actually a very accessible game as far as the genre goes, providing a challenge but not being completely absurd.
There are no real powerups in the game, just four ships with two attack modes. The game is very balanced and goes at a smooth pace so you never feel truly overwhelmed at any time.
Overall, I give Jamestown a 4/5.
+ Excellent visuals and music with a very distinct style and theme.
+ Not absurdly difficult like other games in this genre. Very accessible.
+ Easy to get into and doesn’t overstay its welcome.
+ Large amounts of challenges for those who want more.
- I might be biased on this due to my own skill, but I found the game to be far too easy.
- Lack of online multiplayer is a bit of a letdown.
This year, 2011, has come and gone and with it brought some of the most amazing games, so many that it may actually be the best year for games of this generation. It was certainly hard enough to narrow that list of countless AAA games to just five, but below is my personal choices for this year, ordered by my overall enjoyment of them(hint: you won’t be surprised by my number one choice).
Let’s face it: Sonic is kind of a joke nowadays. Despite some solid recent releases like Sonic Colors and the Sonic Rush series, most of the games he’s appeared in over the last decade are mediocre at best and unplayable shovelware at worst; garbage like Sonic Unleashed and the 2006 Sonic the Hedgehog has transformed Sega’s premiere mascot from gaming icon into the biggest joke in the gaming industry. Every time I mention to someone that I like Sonic games, I quickly have to qualify my statement with “I mean, the good ones. Y’know, the old ones,” unless I want to be laughed at and mocked (and rightfully so). Sega’s been making gradual steps towards improving Sonic’s tarnished imaged, but they’ve still got a long way to go. Thankfully, be re-releasing Sonic CD on PSN and XBL, they’re giving gamers a much needed reminder as to why Sonic was such an icon in the first place.
Batman: Arkham Asylum was to superhero video games what Christopher Nolan’s Batman Begins was to Batman movies; just as Nolan’s film proved that it was possible to create a gritty, intelligent crime drama starring The Caped Crusader (who’s film appearances up until that point had been limited to campy garbage,) Arkham Asylum likewise proved that, after years of appearing in shovelware and quick movie cash-ins, it was indeed possible to create a good game starring Batman. So does that make Arkham Asylum’s sequel, Arkham City, the gaming equivalent of The Dark Knight? Well, not quite, but it’s still an amazing game in it’s own right.
Sequel to the PSN-exclusive eroge-esque RPG, Record of the Agarest War 2 has been given a release date of Summer 2012. The previous game was notable for its cast of characters, multiple protagonists, ecchi dating sim elements, plenty of cute girls, ecchi, and a story spanning multiple generations (did I mention the ecchi?). Very few RPGs have utilized the generations mechanic, and I personally can only name two that have; Romancing SaGa 2 and Phantasy Star 3.
You remember when you first heard about the Wii? You remember all those promo videos that Nintendo released of people doing wildly exaggerated motions with the Wii Remote, and how those motions were perfectly recreated in the completely fake gameplay trailers? You remember how everybody’s imagination ran wild with the possible gameplay applications of the new controller, and how awesome you thought it was going to actually swing the Master Sword in Twilight Princess?
The King of Fighters XIII is a game that successfully blends new school aesthetics and style with old school skill-based gameplay. KoF has got the depth and balance to be ranked in with genre classics like Third Strike or Garou: Mark of the Wolves, and its more than pretty enough to compete with Capcom’s latest, but unfortunately, one major technical shortcoming keeps it from truly being the king of the fighting genre.
Electronic Arts yearly installment of their Need for Speed Hot Pursuit-esque racing game has finally come out. The game was originally shown off at E3 and it brought me nothing but joy playing it as an action packed driving game and heavy duty policing to add a nice twist to my racing game addiction. However, getting into the game after release was a significantly different story!
Ezio’s final journey takes him down a familiar, well trodden path, but outside of a few ill-advised detours, it’s still a trip worth taking.
A little over a year had passed between the release of Origins and Dragon Age II but quite a bit has changed, mostly for the better, but along with the upgrade came some new issues that were not present in the original. It will be hard not to compare this game directly to Origins, as it directly set the foundation that lays under most of the sequel and the events that occurred in the first are also reflected in this, but I will keep it as limited as possible.
The combination of slick imagery, new interface, collectibles, features and classic humour make Saints Row: The Third a whole new experience, different from its predecessor while still managing to keep the elements that worked.
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