http://auth.gamespot.com/ Gamespot's Everything Feed! News, Reviews, Videos. Exploding with content? You bet. en-us Wed, 08 Jan 2014 23:37:00 -0800 http://www.gamespot.com/videos/ces-for-gamers-in-60-seconds/2300-6416777/ The best of the best at CES crammed into 60 seconds of goodness. Wed, 08 Jan 2014 21:53:00 -0800 http://www.gamespot.com/videos/ces-for-gamers-in-60-seconds/2300-6416777/ http://www.gamespot.com/articles/10-upcoming-indie-hits-for-2014/1100-6417015/ <p style="">Greetings, traveler. Why not stay awhile and listen? I am the magical soothsayer, and I shall reveal unto you a bounty of upcoming, lesser-known hits to put on your gaming radar. Clear your mind and let these magical predictions wash over you. From purple goats to keyboard-wielding cowboys to underground technological labyrinths, there is so much gaming goodness to enjoy in 2014, if you only know where to look.</p><div data-embed-type="video" data-ref-id="2300-6416766" data-width="100%" data-height="100%"><iframe src="/videos/embed/6416766/" width="100%" height="100%" frameborder="0" webkitAllowFullScreen mozallowfullscreen allowFullScreen></iframe></div><figure data-align="left" data-size="small" data-img-src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/949/9490474/2415671-zone2.png" data-ref-id="1300-2415671" data-resize-url="" data-resized="" data-embed-type="image"><a href="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/949/9490474/2415671-zone2.png" data-ref-id="1300-2415671"><img src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/scale_small/949/9490474/2415671-zone2.png"></a></figure><p style=""><a href="http://necrodancer.com/" rel="nofollow" data-ref-id="false">Crypt of the Necrodancer</a></p><p style="">Crypt of the Necrodancer is the only game in this feature that can be played with a Dance Dance Revolution dance pad. That fact alone should be reason enough for you to check out this rhythm-based roguelike. If you still need convincing, consider the game's beat detection algorithm, which transforms your music into a dungeon that can be explored in the game. But be careful: you have to keep up with the beat of the music, so maybe stay away from the DragonForce.</p><p style=""><a href="http://www.magicaltimebean.com/escape-goat-2/" rel="nofollow" data-ref-id="false">Escape Goat 2</a></p><figure data-align="right" data-size="small" data-img-src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/949/9490474/2415672-eg2_alpha_july_2-1024x590.png" data-ref-id="1300-2415672" data-resize-url="" data-resized="" data-embed-type="image"><a href="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/949/9490474/2415672-eg2_alpha_july_2-1024x590.png" data-ref-id="1300-2415672"><img src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/scale_small/949/9490474/2415672-eg2_alpha_july_2-1024x590.png"></a></figure><p style="">Escape Goat was a game of puzzles, platforming, and magical barnyard animals--specifically, a magical purple goat and a mouse wearing a wizard's hat. Now it's finally getting a sequel, complete with a redesigned art style, new traps, new puzzles, and, of course, plenty of magic. And while it may not be available the day Escape Goat 2 comes out, a level editor is also in the works so you can design your own mind-bending challenges.</p><p style="">.</p><figure data-align="left" data-size="small" data-img-src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/949/9490474/2415674-420b35d90bc2dbc1ddc6209f1a71b731_large.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2415674" data-resize-url="" data-resized="" data-embed-type="image"><a href="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/949/9490474/2415674-420b35d90bc2dbc1ddc6209f1a71b731_large.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2415674"><img src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/scale_small/949/9490474/2415674-420b35d90bc2dbc1ddc6209f1a71b731_large.jpg"></a></figure><p style=""><a href="http://www.heart-machine.com/" rel="nofollow" data-ref-id="false">Hyper Light Drifter</a></p><p style="">A game that captured the imaginations of thousands on Kickstarter (and smashed its goal by a significant margin), Hyper Light Drifter is a 2D action role-playing game that juxtaposes its colorful world with a somber, haunting tone that underscores the game's deeper mysteries. As a drifter--a collector of lost knowledge and technology--you will hack and slash your way through the forgotten corners of the world in search of treasures unknown.</p><figure data-align="right" data-size="small" data-img-src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/949/9490474/2415678-icono01.gif" data-ref-id="1300-2415678" data-resize-url="" data-resized="" data-embed-type="image"><a href="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/949/9490474/2415678-icono01.gif" data-ref-id="1300-2415678"><img src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/scale_small/949/9490474/2415678-icono01.gif"></a></figure><p style=""><a href="http://konjak.org/index.php?file=30&folder=4" rel="nofollow" data-ref-id="false">The Iconoclasts</a></p><p style="">Robin is a badass mechanic who smashes foes with her trusty wrench. The Iconoclasts is a badass action platformer with a wonderfully vibrant world ripe for smashing. The two were made for each other, and with a bit of luck, they might just smash their way onto our computers this year. This game has been a long time coming, but if it meets the high standard of quality set by developer Konjak's other games--such as the lovely <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/noitu-love-2-devolution/" data-ref-id="false">Noitu Love 2: Devolution</a>--it'll be well worth the wait.</p><figure data-align="left" data-size="small" data-img-src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/949/9490474/2415682-img3thumb.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2415682" data-resize-url="" data-resized="" data-embed-type="image"><a href="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/949/9490474/2415682-img3thumb.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2415682"><img src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/scale_small/949/9490474/2415682-img3thumb.jpg"></a></figure><p style=""><a href="http://necrophonegames.com/jazzpunk/" rel="nofollow" data-ref-id="false">Jazzpunk</a></p><p style="">Jazzpunk. How do you describe <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/videos/harassing-people-like-a-gentleman-in-jazzpunk/2300-6414223/" data-ref-id="2300-6414223">Jazzpunk</a>? It's a game about life and adventure, specifically a first-person adventure through an extreme alternate-universe version of the late 20th century. Sporting an offbeat style and a sense of humor all its own, Jazzpunk tasks you with committing corporate espionage, exploring its absurdist Cold War-era world, and using a wide assortment of tools to generally harass the unsuspecting public.</p><p style=""><a href="http://www.nidhogggame.com/" rel="nofollow" data-ref-id="false">Nidhogg</a></p><figure data-align="right" data-size="small" data-img-src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/949/9490474/2415683-screen1.png" data-ref-id="1300-2415683" data-resize-url="" data-resized="" data-embed-type="image"><a href="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/949/9490474/2415683-screen1.png" data-ref-id="1300-2415683"><img src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/scale_small/949/9490474/2415683-screen1.png"></a></figure><p style="">Everyone knows the world of fencing is filled with danger, adventure, and, most of all, dueling. Therefore, it's apt that Nidhogg is a game of dangerous dueling adventures played out across a 2D plane. The premise is simple: two duelists enter, and through a combination of swordfighting, fisticuffs, and acrobatics, only one will leave alive. That reprieve is only temporary, however, because the game's lightning-fast pace ensures another challenger is right around the corner.</p><p style="">.</p><figure data-align="left" data-size="small" data-img-src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/949/9490474/2415693-qc3.png" data-ref-id="1300-2415693" data-resize-url="" data-resized="" data-embed-type="image"><a href="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/949/9490474/2415693-qc3.png" data-ref-id="1300-2415693"><img src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/scale_small/949/9490474/2415693-qc3.png"></a></figure><p style=""><a href="http://www.blendogames.com/qc/" rel="nofollow" data-ref-id="false">Quadrilateral Cowboy</a></p><p style="">Quadrilateral Cowboy is looking to be a truly fascinating cowboy simulator. Only instead of a cowboy, you're more of a computer hacker. And instead of a gun, you have a laptop. And instead of a horse, you ride a motorcycle. You know what? Let's not sweat the details! This game is one of corporate intrigue and computer hacking in a bygone era of tape decks and CRT monitors. Armed with your newfangled hacking device, you'll breach and bypass through the finest security systems of the last century.</p><figure data-align="right" data-size="small" data-img-src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/949/9490474/2415700-0300706a8de464de758feb00f27267d8_large.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2415700" data-resize-url="" data-resized="" data-embed-type="image"><a href="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/949/9490474/2415700-0300706a8de464de758feb00f27267d8_large.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2415700"><img src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/scale_small/949/9490474/2415700-0300706a8de464de758feb00f27267d8_large.jpg"></a></figure><p style=""><a href="http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1548272412/radio-the-universe-0" rel="nofollow" data-ref-id="false">Radio the Universe</a></p><p style="">Radio the Universe mixes classic Zelda-style action and dark science fiction into a distinctly haunting blend that is hard to forget. Armed with a variety of tools, including a shield, a short-range teleport, and various weapons, you will guide an unnamed heroine through a trap-filled labyrinth crawling with mechanized foes. Be mindful, however, because as the game's Kickstarter pages notes, "Players who die in-game, die in real life."</p><p style="">.</p><figure data-align="left" data-size="small" data-img-src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/949/9490474/2415713-feature_game+copy+01.still003.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2415713" data-resize-url="" data-resized="" data-embed-type="image"><a href="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/949/9490474/2415713-feature_game+copy+01.still003.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2415713"><img src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/scale_small/949/9490474/2415713-feature_game+copy+01.still003.jpg"></a></figure><p style=""><a href="http://forums.tigsource.com/index.php?topic=25183.0" rel="nofollow" data-ref-id="false">Rain World</a></p><p style="">Slug cats. That's one way to describe these oddly animated creatures who inhabit the somber dystopia of Rain World. Snake otters or worm ferrets would have also been acceptable. As one of these creatures, you will navigate mazelike environments while hunting lesser creatures and not becoming dinner for the lizardlike predators who dominate this ecosystem. Test your survival skills solo or with other slug cats cooperatively.</p><p style=""><a href="http://www.routinegame.com/" rel="nofollow" data-ref-id="false">Routine</a></p><figure data-align="right" data-size="small" data-img-src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/949/9490474/2415707-routinescreens_02_gi.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2415707" data-resize-url="" data-resized="" data-embed-type="image"><a href="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/949/9490474/2415707-routinescreens_02_gi.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2415707"><img src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/scale_small/949/9490474/2415707-routinescreens_02_gi.jpg"></a></figure><p style=""><a href="http://www.gamespot.com/routine/" data-ref-id="false">Routine</a> charges you with investigating the disappearance of everyone on a lunar research station. And just as you would expect, these people didn't go missing due to completely mundane reasons. The tension of your search is underscored by a throwback to the bleeps and bloops of clunky 1980s technology. I mean, if BioShock Infinite's Columbia can have turn-of-the-century, steam-powered gizmos in the sky, there's no reason we can't have a floppy disk on the moon. Right?</p> Wed, 08 Jan 2014 16:03:00 -0800 http://www.gamespot.com/articles/10-upcoming-indie-hits-for-2014/1100-6417015/ http://www.gamespot.com/reviews/ballpoint-universe-infinite-review/1900-6415620/ <p style="">I often imagine a game designer's most vital tools are those capable of distilling human imagination into a series of 1s and 0s--the software and hardware that assist in creation. Even as a writer of words and a composer of music, I've long abandoned pencils, protractors, and manuscript pads in favor of word processing and electronic musicianship. In such a world, what is the value of simple paper and pen?</p><p style="">The creators of Ballpoint Universe Infinite have found great value in those basic tools, crafting a surreal and striking world out of ballpoint ink strokes. Stepping into this universe is like waking in a Monty Python animation by way of Edwin Abbott Abbott's novella <em>Flatland</em>. You first interact with the game in the fashion of a 2D platformer, your own character depicted as a long-beaked creature in a smock--or, perhaps, a radish atop a tortilla chip atop two toothpicks. Or more specifically, a cutout of a doodle of a radish atop a tortilla chip atop two toothpicks. You move left and right with the kind of awkwardness you imagine such a being would move: loosely and haphazardly. The clumsiness is amplified by Ballpoint Universe's default mouse-only control scheme, which makes it all but impossible to perform precise jumps.</p><div data-embed-type="video" data-ref-id="2300-6416740" data-width="100%" data-height="100%"><iframe src="/videos/embed/6416740/" width="100%" height="100%" frameborder="0" webkitAllowFullScreen mozallowfullscreen allowFullScreen></iframe></div><p style="">Fortunately, the game supports a controller, which makes it somewhat easier to navigate this weird and wonderful place. And Ballpoint Universe usually requires precision only as you near its close, though the scarcity of extended jumping sequences doesn't make those that exist any less untoward. You explore the campaign's overworld in this fashion, interacting with a cigar-chomping boot, a television wearing a ball cap who invites you to stare at him for a few hours, a floating cyclopic cephalopod, and a nerdy gatekeeper with a curious resemblance to comic strip character Dilbert.</p><p style="">These eccentrics live in a land that looks like the mad, marvelous ravings of a frustrated student manically scribbling the contents of his imagination during a particularly boring lecture. Columns, trees, and mechanical contraptions of unknown purpose have been scrawled on notebook paper and pasted onto the screen. Layered squares with drawings of skulls and skeletons depict the putrid soil underfoot. Thin lines snaking their way across ramps and walls recall the way ivy sprawls across brick facades. I wouldn't call this place beautiful, exactly, but it demands that you pay attention to it. I couldn't avert my eyes.</p><figure data-align="left" data-size="medium" data-img-src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/416/4161502/2413935-2014010518520302.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2413935" data-resize-url="" data-resized="" data-embed-type="image"><a href="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/416/4161502/2413935-2014010518520302.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2413935"><img src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/scale_medium/416/4161502/2413935-2014010518520302.jpg"></a><figcaption>Like a circle in a spiral, like a wheel within a wheel.</figcaption></figure><p style="">A universe is more than a planet, of course, and you spend most of your time playing Ballpoint Universe as a side-scrolling shooter, though Ballpoint Universe never approaches the kind of bullet hell associated with the genre. The imprecision of the platforming is evident in the shooting; it's hard to tell just how closely your asymmetrical craft can approach an enemy before colliding, or even when an object is a dangerous obstacle or a harmless bit of background. But just as the overworld rarely requires exactness, the space missions don't often test your twitch skills. Instead, they are more like raucous laboratories where you can try out different ship configurations to discover the most efficient ways of downing your foes.</p><p style="">Your ship's four customizable slots allow you to outfit all sorts of upgradable guns, shields, and swords. Indeed, your craft supports melee weapons that slice up nearby attackers automatically when they draw near. Melee weapons have different attack ranges and arcs, and much of the fun comes from discovering just how closely you can approach peril before your space-sword swipes it away. The blobs of ink that annihilated foes leave behind further prompt you to fly directly into danger: this is Ballpoint Universe's currency, and most of it evaporates away if you don't swoop in and suck it up. The variety of weapons is one of the game's best assets; there's enough diversity among the various weapons in terms of range, power, and behavior that missions rarely feel stale, even if you're facing enemies you've seen a few times before.</p><p style="">Those enemies are where Ballpoint Universe goes for broke. In one boss battle, an Elizabethan dandy with a ruffled collar and a pointy hat swings his sword and deflects your bullets, but this is no normal Elizabethan dandy with a ruffled collar and a pointy hat. No, this is a bizarre Shakespearean monster with its mirror image attached at the torso, as if someone had cut the figure of a king from a playing card and given him a massive shield and accordion arms. Your first encounters with this behemoth and others aren't that difficult, but they can become tedious; before you bedeck your ship with upper-tier weapons, Shakespeare and friends are predictable bullet sponges that take forever to give up the ghost.</p><blockquote data-align="center" data-size="large"><p style="">These eccentrics live in a land that looks like the mad, marvelous ravings of a frustrated student manically scribbling the contents of his imagination.</p></blockquote><figure data-align="center" data-size="large" data-img-src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/416/4161502/2413923-2014010515464660.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2413923" data-resize-url="" data-resized="" data-embed-type="image"><a href="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/416/4161502/2413923-2014010515464660.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2413923"><img src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/scale_super/416/4161502/2413923-2014010515464660.jpg"></a><figcaption>Just what are those things, anyway?</figcaption></figure><p style="">The resulting multi-minute slog isn't very fun, but such tedium is limited to the early bosses, when you can afford only the dinkiest weapons. Even so, the initial stretches are still entertaining, with you weaving around enemy fire and swooping in close to intricately drawn angels of death so that your chainsword can soften their stings. Ultimately, you earn enough ink to power quite a ways through Infinite mode and its ceaseless waves of drifting deviants, and while Ballpoint Universe doesn't feature the tightly controlled battles that characterize the finest shoot-'em-ups, its imaginative visuals and satisfying customization options are compelling driving forces.</p><p style="">I'd never visited a universe quite like this one, where polygonal beings called logicians resemble geometry problems snipped from a mathematics textbook. There's a consistency to Ballpoint Universe's inconsistent style: you wouldn't suspect that walking rubbish bins and sentient isosceles triangles would occupy the same lands, yet the hand-drawn squiggles are the ties that bind, keeping the game from devolving into an unappealing mess of random images and ideas. Its action isn't as sharp as its artfulness, yet Ballpoint Universe Infinite is too exuberant to ignore.</p> Mon, 06 Jan 2014 19:34:00 -0800 http://www.gamespot.com/reviews/ballpoint-universe-infinite-review/1900-6415620/
http://auth.gamespot.com/ Gamespot's Everything Feed! News, Reviews, Videos. Exploding with content? You bet. en-us Wed, 08 Jan 2014 23:37:00 -0800 http://www.gamespot.com/videos/ces-for-gamers-in-60-seconds/2300-6416777/ The best of the best at CES crammed into 60 seconds of goodness. Wed, 08 Jan 2014 21:53:00 -0800 http://www.gamespot.com/videos/ces-for-gamers-in-60-seconds/2300-6416777/ http://www.gamespot.com/articles/10-upcoming-indie-hits-for-2014/1100-6417015/ <p style="">Greetings, traveler. Why not stay awhile and listen? I am the magical soothsayer, and I shall reveal unto you a bounty of upcoming, lesser-known hits to put on your gaming radar. Clear your mind and let these magical predictions wash over you. From purple goats to keyboard-wielding cowboys to underground technological labyrinths, there is so much gaming goodness to enjoy in 2014, if you only know where to look.</p><div data-embed-type="video" data-ref-id="2300-6416766" data-width="100%" data-height="100%"><iframe src="/videos/embed/6416766/" width="100%" height="100%" frameborder="0" webkitAllowFullScreen mozallowfullscreen allowFullScreen></iframe></div><figure data-align="left" data-size="small" data-img-src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/949/9490474/2415671-zone2.png" data-ref-id="1300-2415671" data-resize-url="" data-resized="" data-embed-type="image"><a href="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/949/9490474/2415671-zone2.png" data-ref-id="1300-2415671"><img src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/scale_small/949/9490474/2415671-zone2.png"></a></figure><p style=""><a href="http://necrodancer.com/" rel="nofollow" data-ref-id="false">Crypt of the Necrodancer</a></p><p style="">Crypt of the Necrodancer is the only game in this feature that can be played with a Dance Dance Revolution dance pad. That fact alone should be reason enough for you to check out this rhythm-based roguelike. If you still need convincing, consider the game's beat detection algorithm, which transforms your music into a dungeon that can be explored in the game. But be careful: you have to keep up with the beat of the music, so maybe stay away from the DragonForce.</p><p style=""><a href="http://www.magicaltimebean.com/escape-goat-2/" rel="nofollow" data-ref-id="false">Escape Goat 2</a></p><figure data-align="right" data-size="small" data-img-src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/949/9490474/2415672-eg2_alpha_july_2-1024x590.png" data-ref-id="1300-2415672" data-resize-url="" data-resized="" data-embed-type="image"><a href="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/949/9490474/2415672-eg2_alpha_july_2-1024x590.png" data-ref-id="1300-2415672"><img src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/scale_small/949/9490474/2415672-eg2_alpha_july_2-1024x590.png"></a></figure><p style="">Escape Goat was a game of puzzles, platforming, and magical barnyard animals--specifically, a magical purple goat and a mouse wearing a wizard's hat. Now it's finally getting a sequel, complete with a redesigned art style, new traps, new puzzles, and, of course, plenty of magic. And while it may not be available the day Escape Goat 2 comes out, a level editor is also in the works so you can design your own mind-bending challenges.</p><p style="">.</p><figure data-align="left" data-size="small" data-img-src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/949/9490474/2415674-420b35d90bc2dbc1ddc6209f1a71b731_large.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2415674" data-resize-url="" data-resized="" data-embed-type="image"><a href="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/949/9490474/2415674-420b35d90bc2dbc1ddc6209f1a71b731_large.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2415674"><img src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/scale_small/949/9490474/2415674-420b35d90bc2dbc1ddc6209f1a71b731_large.jpg"></a></figure><p style=""><a href="http://www.heart-machine.com/" rel="nofollow" data-ref-id="false">Hyper Light Drifter</a></p><p style="">A game that captured the imaginations of thousands on Kickstarter (and smashed its goal by a significant margin), Hyper Light Drifter is a 2D action role-playing game that juxtaposes its colorful world with a somber, haunting tone that underscores the game's deeper mysteries. As a drifter--a collector of lost knowledge and technology--you will hack and slash your way through the forgotten corners of the world in search of treasures unknown.</p><figure data-align="right" data-size="small" data-img-src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/949/9490474/2415678-icono01.gif" data-ref-id="1300-2415678" data-resize-url="" data-resized="" data-embed-type="image"><a href="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/949/9490474/2415678-icono01.gif" data-ref-id="1300-2415678"><img src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/scale_small/949/9490474/2415678-icono01.gif"></a></figure><p style=""><a href="http://konjak.org/index.php?file=30&folder=4" rel="nofollow" data-ref-id="false">The Iconoclasts</a></p><p style="">Robin is a badass mechanic who smashes foes with her trusty wrench. The Iconoclasts is a badass action platformer with a wonderfully vibrant world ripe for smashing. The two were made for each other, and with a bit of luck, they might just smash their way onto our computers this year. This game has been a long time coming, but if it meets the high standard of quality set by developer Konjak's other games--such as the lovely <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/noitu-love-2-devolution/" data-ref-id="false">Noitu Love 2: Devolution</a>--it'll be well worth the wait.</p><figure data-align="left" data-size="small" data-img-src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/949/9490474/2415682-img3thumb.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2415682" data-resize-url="" data-resized="" data-embed-type="image"><a href="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/949/9490474/2415682-img3thumb.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2415682"><img src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/scale_small/949/9490474/2415682-img3thumb.jpg"></a></figure><p style=""><a href="http://necrophonegames.com/jazzpunk/" rel="nofollow" data-ref-id="false">Jazzpunk</a></p><p style="">Jazzpunk. How do you describe <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/videos/harassing-people-like-a-gentleman-in-jazzpunk/2300-6414223/" data-ref-id="2300-6414223">Jazzpunk</a>? It's a game about life and adventure, specifically a first-person adventure through an extreme alternate-universe version of the late 20th century. Sporting an offbeat style and a sense of humor all its own, Jazzpunk tasks you with committing corporate espionage, exploring its absurdist Cold War-era world, and using a wide assortment of tools to generally harass the unsuspecting public.</p><p style=""><a href="http://www.nidhogggame.com/" rel="nofollow" data-ref-id="false">Nidhogg</a></p><figure data-align="right" data-size="small" data-img-src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/949/9490474/2415683-screen1.png" data-ref-id="1300-2415683" data-resize-url="" data-resized="" data-embed-type="image"><a href="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/949/9490474/2415683-screen1.png" data-ref-id="1300-2415683"><img src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/scale_small/949/9490474/2415683-screen1.png"></a></figure><p style="">Everyone knows the world of fencing is filled with danger, adventure, and, most of all, dueling. Therefore, it's apt that Nidhogg is a game of dangerous dueling adventures played out across a 2D plane. The premise is simple: two duelists enter, and through a combination of swordfighting, fisticuffs, and acrobatics, only one will leave alive. That reprieve is only temporary, however, because the game's lightning-fast pace ensures another challenger is right around the corner.</p><p style="">.</p><figure data-align="left" data-size="small" data-img-src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/949/9490474/2415693-qc3.png" data-ref-id="1300-2415693" data-resize-url="" data-resized="" data-embed-type="image"><a href="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/949/9490474/2415693-qc3.png" data-ref-id="1300-2415693"><img src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/scale_small/949/9490474/2415693-qc3.png"></a></figure><p style=""><a href="http://www.blendogames.com/qc/" rel="nofollow" data-ref-id="false">Quadrilateral Cowboy</a></p><p style="">Quadrilateral Cowboy is looking to be a truly fascinating cowboy simulator. Only instead of a cowboy, you're more of a computer hacker. And instead of a gun, you have a laptop. And instead of a horse, you ride a motorcycle. You know what? Let's not sweat the details! This game is one of corporate intrigue and computer hacking in a bygone era of tape decks and CRT monitors. Armed with your newfangled hacking device, you'll breach and bypass through the finest security systems of the last century.</p><figure data-align="right" data-size="small" data-img-src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/949/9490474/2415700-0300706a8de464de758feb00f27267d8_large.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2415700" data-resize-url="" data-resized="" data-embed-type="image"><a href="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/949/9490474/2415700-0300706a8de464de758feb00f27267d8_large.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2415700"><img src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/scale_small/949/9490474/2415700-0300706a8de464de758feb00f27267d8_large.jpg"></a></figure><p style=""><a href="http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1548272412/radio-the-universe-0" rel="nofollow" data-ref-id="false">Radio the Universe</a></p><p style="">Radio the Universe mixes classic Zelda-style action and dark science fiction into a distinctly haunting blend that is hard to forget. Armed with a variety of tools, including a shield, a short-range teleport, and various weapons, you will guide an unnamed heroine through a trap-filled labyrinth crawling with mechanized foes. Be mindful, however, because as the game's Kickstarter pages notes, "Players who die in-game, die in real life."</p><p style="">.</p><figure data-align="left" data-size="small" data-img-src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/949/9490474/2415713-feature_game+copy+01.still003.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2415713" data-resize-url="" data-resized="" data-embed-type="image"><a href="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/949/9490474/2415713-feature_game+copy+01.still003.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2415713"><img src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/scale_small/949/9490474/2415713-feature_game+copy+01.still003.jpg"></a></figure><p style=""><a href="http://forums.tigsource.com/index.php?topic=25183.0" rel="nofollow" data-ref-id="false">Rain World</a></p><p style="">Slug cats. That's one way to describe these oddly animated creatures who inhabit the somber dystopia of Rain World. Snake otters or worm ferrets would have also been acceptable. As one of these creatures, you will navigate mazelike environments while hunting lesser creatures and not becoming dinner for the lizardlike predators who dominate this ecosystem. Test your survival skills solo or with other slug cats cooperatively.</p><p style=""><a href="http://www.routinegame.com/" rel="nofollow" data-ref-id="false">Routine</a></p><figure data-align="right" data-size="small" data-img-src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/949/9490474/2415707-routinescreens_02_gi.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2415707" data-resize-url="" data-resized="" data-embed-type="image"><a href="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/949/9490474/2415707-routinescreens_02_gi.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2415707"><img src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/scale_small/949/9490474/2415707-routinescreens_02_gi.jpg"></a></figure><p style=""><a href="http://www.gamespot.com/routine/" data-ref-id="false">Routine</a> charges you with investigating the disappearance of everyone on a lunar research station. And just as you would expect, these people didn't go missing due to completely mundane reasons. The tension of your search is underscored by a throwback to the bleeps and bloops of clunky 1980s technology. I mean, if BioShock Infinite's Columbia can have turn-of-the-century, steam-powered gizmos in the sky, there's no reason we can't have a floppy disk on the moon. Right?</p> Wed, 08 Jan 2014 16:03:00 -0800 http://www.gamespot.com/articles/10-upcoming-indie-hits-for-2014/1100-6417015/ http://www.gamespot.com/reviews/ballpoint-universe-infinite-review/1900-6415620/ <p style="">I often imagine a game designer's most vital tools are those capable of distilling human imagination into a series of 1s and 0s--the software and hardware that assist in creation. Even as a writer of words and a composer of music, I've long abandoned pencils, protractors, and manuscript pads in favor of word processing and electronic musicianship. In such a world, what is the value of simple paper and pen?</p><p style="">The creators of Ballpoint Universe Infinite have found great value in those basic tools, crafting a surreal and striking world out of ballpoint ink strokes. Stepping into this universe is like waking in a Monty Python animation by way of Edwin Abbott Abbott's novella <em>Flatland</em>. You first interact with the game in the fashion of a 2D platformer, your own character depicted as a long-beaked creature in a smock--or, perhaps, a radish atop a tortilla chip atop two toothpicks. Or more specifically, a cutout of a doodle of a radish atop a tortilla chip atop two toothpicks. You move left and right with the kind of awkwardness you imagine such a being would move: loosely and haphazardly. The clumsiness is amplified by Ballpoint Universe's default mouse-only control scheme, which makes it all but impossible to perform precise jumps.</p><div data-embed-type="video" data-ref-id="2300-6416740" data-width="100%" data-height="100%"><iframe src="/videos/embed/6416740/" width="100%" height="100%" frameborder="0" webkitAllowFullScreen mozallowfullscreen allowFullScreen></iframe></div><p style="">Fortunately, the game supports a controller, which makes it somewhat easier to navigate this weird and wonderful place. And Ballpoint Universe usually requires precision only as you near its close, though the scarcity of extended jumping sequences doesn't make those that exist any less untoward. You explore the campaign's overworld in this fashion, interacting with a cigar-chomping boot, a television wearing a ball cap who invites you to stare at him for a few hours, a floating cyclopic cephalopod, and a nerdy gatekeeper with a curious resemblance to comic strip character Dilbert.</p><p style="">These eccentrics live in a land that looks like the mad, marvelous ravings of a frustrated student manically scribbling the contents of his imagination during a particularly boring lecture. Columns, trees, and mechanical contraptions of unknown purpose have been scrawled on notebook paper and pasted onto the screen. Layered squares with drawings of skulls and skeletons depict the putrid soil underfoot. Thin lines snaking their way across ramps and walls recall the way ivy sprawls across brick facades. I wouldn't call this place beautiful, exactly, but it demands that you pay attention to it. I couldn't avert my eyes.</p><figure data-align="left" data-size="medium" data-img-src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/416/4161502/2413935-2014010518520302.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2413935" data-resize-url="" data-resized="" data-embed-type="image"><a href="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/416/4161502/2413935-2014010518520302.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2413935"><img src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/scale_medium/416/4161502/2413935-2014010518520302.jpg"></a><figcaption>Like a circle in a spiral, like a wheel within a wheel.</figcaption></figure><p style="">A universe is more than a planet, of course, and you spend most of your time playing Ballpoint Universe as a side-scrolling shooter, though Ballpoint Universe never approaches the kind of bullet hell associated with the genre. The imprecision of the platforming is evident in the shooting; it's hard to tell just how closely your asymmetrical craft can approach an enemy before colliding, or even when an object is a dangerous obstacle or a harmless bit of background. But just as the overworld rarely requires exactness, the space missions don't often test your twitch skills. Instead, they are more like raucous laboratories where you can try out different ship configurations to discover the most efficient ways of downing your foes.</p><p style="">Your ship's four customizable slots allow you to outfit all sorts of upgradable guns, shields, and swords. Indeed, your craft supports melee weapons that slice up nearby attackers automatically when they draw near. Melee weapons have different attack ranges and arcs, and much of the fun comes from discovering just how closely you can approach peril before your space-sword swipes it away. The blobs of ink that annihilated foes leave behind further prompt you to fly directly into danger: this is Ballpoint Universe's currency, and most of it evaporates away if you don't swoop in and suck it up. The variety of weapons is one of the game's best assets; there's enough diversity among the various weapons in terms of range, power, and behavior that missions rarely feel stale, even if you're facing enemies you've seen a few times before.</p><p style="">Those enemies are where Ballpoint Universe goes for broke. In one boss battle, an Elizabethan dandy with a ruffled collar and a pointy hat swings his sword and deflects your bullets, but this is no normal Elizabethan dandy with a ruffled collar and a pointy hat. No, this is a bizarre Shakespearean monster with its mirror image attached at the torso, as if someone had cut the figure of a king from a playing card and given him a massive shield and accordion arms. Your first encounters with this behemoth and others aren't that difficult, but they can become tedious; before you bedeck your ship with upper-tier weapons, Shakespeare and friends are predictable bullet sponges that take forever to give up the ghost.</p><blockquote data-align="center" data-size="large"><p style="">These eccentrics live in a land that looks like the mad, marvelous ravings of a frustrated student manically scribbling the contents of his imagination.</p></blockquote><figure data-align="center" data-size="large" data-img-src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/416/4161502/2413923-2014010515464660.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2413923" data-resize-url="" data-resized="" data-embed-type="image"><a href="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/416/4161502/2413923-2014010515464660.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2413923"><img src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/scale_super/416/4161502/2413923-2014010515464660.jpg"></a><figcaption>Just what are those things, anyway?</figcaption></figure><p style="">The resulting multi-minute slog isn't very fun, but such tedium is limited to the early bosses, when you can afford only the dinkiest weapons. Even so, the initial stretches are still entertaining, with you weaving around enemy fire and swooping in close to intricately drawn angels of death so that your chainsword can soften their stings. Ultimately, you earn enough ink to power quite a ways through Infinite mode and its ceaseless waves of drifting deviants, and while Ballpoint Universe doesn't feature the tightly controlled battles that characterize the finest shoot-'em-ups, its imaginative visuals and satisfying customization options are compelling driving forces.</p><p style="">I'd never visited a universe quite like this one, where polygonal beings called logicians resemble geometry problems snipped from a mathematics textbook. There's a consistency to Ballpoint Universe's inconsistent style: you wouldn't suspect that walking rubbish bins and sentient isosceles triangles would occupy the same lands, yet the hand-drawn squiggles are the ties that bind, keeping the game from devolving into an unappealing mess of random images and ideas. Its action isn't as sharp as its artfulness, yet Ballpoint Universe Infinite is too exuberant to ignore.</p> Mon, 06 Jan 2014 19:34:00 -0800 http://www.gamespot.com/reviews/ballpoint-universe-infinite-review/1900-6415620/
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