Review - Rogue Shooter : The FPS Roguelike (PC)

Randomly Generated Doom

I have been excitedly awaiting the release of Rogue Shooter since the moment I first heard about it online. After all, here was a game promising to blend two of my favourite genres into one ultra, mega-game; the old school first person action of Doom (the greatest game ever made), with the randomly generated shenanigans of Roguelikes such as Spelunky (The second greatest game ever created). My imagination began to run wild, picturing the dark, atmospheric corridors of Doom, coupled with the addictive and infinite replayability that randomly generated worlds provide. Further depth would be provided by levelling up, perks, different player classes, computer hacking and using science to create new and explosive weaponry. In summary, it sounded like the perfect game. So,  it finally launched, with minimal fanfare, on Steam a couple of weeks ago, and I was barely able to keep my hands steady as I made the instant purchase. Can it possibly live up to my lofty expectations? Is it even a decent game on its own merits? 

Indie News - The Dungeoning - A New Roguelike Platformer

Back to the dungeon

Good news for fans of the Roguelike genre - especially those of the 2D platforming variety - for there is a new game in town, a game called The Dungeoning. Hot on the heels of excellent 2D platform Roguelikes such as RedRogue, Risk of Rain and, need I mention it, Spelunky, The Dungeoning brings classic underground looting, monster slaying, levelling up and, of course, randomly generated levels and perma-death. 

Review - Eldritch (+ Mountains of Madness DLC) (PC)

Don't mess with the librarian!

As anyone who has played Spelunky or any other excellent roguelike (or, more accurately, games with roguelike elements) knows, death can come swiftly and without much warning. You can tread carefully though the world the game presents to you, surveying the area for danger, navigating your way around traps and hazards, scooping up every little piece of helpful loot along the way and, generally, just trying to survive, when, bam! A misstep can land you on an unseen set of spikes, or face to face with one of the most feared adversaries. Death can be sudden and unexpected, undoing all your hard work up until that point. But it is this perception of 'real' danger - the fact that death is final - that keeps you coming back to try again. When a game is a solid and enjoyable experience, randomly generated stages can be the difference between something you will play for a week, to one you will still be enjoying many months later.

Review - Dragon's Crown (PS3)

Back to the old school!

The scrolling beat-em-up doesn't get much love these days, as developers struggle to find new ways to keep them fresh for modern audiences, but in their heyday they were incredibly popular. Capcom were undoubtedly the masters of the genre, and were also responsible for injecting some much needed depth into an otherwise simplistic type of game when they released the excellent licensed Dungeons and Dragons games, Tower of Doom and Shadow Over Mystara. These titles added RPG-lite elements, a decent fantasy storyline, and magic spells and equipment to be used in battle, and proved to be a great success in the smokey arcades of the 1990's. The next big title that would follow a similar path was the sublime Guardian Heroes on the Sega Saturn by the talented folks at Treasure - with a Japanese anime visual style and far more levelling up options and alternative routes through stages - this game remains the pinnacle of this hybrid genre. Then things went quiet... until now. 

Fantastic FPS Roguelike DELVER receives massive upgrade!

Back, and better than ever!

Back in December of 2012, I discovered an insanely addictive, first person RPG by the name of Delver. It was the work of one man, Chad Cunnigan, and was for sale on his website for the measly sum of £5. This small outlay entitled the purchaser to the alpha version of the game, with free updates when they appeared. I absolutely adored Delver, thanks to it's charming pixellated visuals, atmospheric soundtrack and incredibly absorbing gameplay - you can read my full review here. I noticed a few months ago that Delver had appeared on Steam, after a successful greenlight campaign - well deserved in my opinion - but I thought nothing of it as I already owned it. Well, imagine my intense excitement when I saw some screenshots a few days ago showing Delver with a funky new visual style. I found my original email I received upon purchasing the game 10 months ago and, low and behold, I had a steam key and a newly updated version ready to download.

REVIEW - Game Dev Story (Android / iOS)

Games Development 101

Now, let's be honest. All of us gamers have, at some point or another, wished we were making games. Maybe you are a developer – in which case, well done, you lucky bastard – or maybe you just love games and wish you had the ability to make all those wonderful ideas you have swimming around in your head a reality. Well, now you can, and without all that inconvenient hassle, such as having to study and work really hard. Now, even a knuckle-head like you can run his or her own games company and produce wonderful games. All thanks to this excellent mobile game by Kairosoft.

Classic Game - System Shock 2 (PC)

Shock, Horror! It's another fantastic 1990's PC FPS!


Amazingly, considering that first person shooters were my genre of choice throughout the 1990's, I have never played System Shock 2. Shocking (excuse the pun) I know, but true. I am not sure how I managed to miss this classic game, but I can only assume it was because I was too busy with university, drinking and girls to have noticed it. That, or maybe I was hooked on my new Sega Dreamcast. Anyway, regardless of my shameful negligence, I have finally gotten around to experiencing this ground breaking title, and boy, am I glad I did.

REVIEW - State of Decay (XBLA)

More Brains!

Zombies are everywhere, and I am not talking about walking our streets in search of brains. I am speaking of the colossal popularity of the undead in modern entertainment. With a plethora of recent zombie games on consoles (Naughty Dog's The Last of Us, and Techland's Dead Island Riptide), MMOs on PC (Dayz and War Z) and a big budget movie in cinemas (World War Z), it would seem that shuffling cadavers on the hunt for human flesh are inescapable.

As a fan of post-apocalyptic scenarios, I have been eagerly awaiting this new open world action RPG from Undead Labs. The chance to explore a sandbox environment, sneaking down ruined city streets, looting chests and shelves for vital supplies, dealing with other human survivors and, of course, caving in the heads of those pesky flesh eaters, is an exciting prospect. Dead Island has been the closest I have come to achieving these survivalist fantasies so far, but now State of Decay takes the crown. It is, without a doubt, the most satisfying survival zombie experience ever created. But it is not without its flaws.

REVIEW - Delver (PC Indie)

An Action First-Person RPG Dungeon Crawling Roguelike (catchy isn't it?)

Blimey! It would appear action Roguelikes are like buses. You wait for ages for one to show up, then a whole shit load of them turn up at once. At least I think that's how the saying goes. Whatever, the bottom line is we have recently been blessed with a plethora of games featuring randomly generated levels, rpg elements, and permadeath. For those of us teetering on the edge of hardcore RPG nerd-ism, these action based real-time Roguelikes are a much more palatable option than the beardy uber-heavy RPG antics of a true roguelike. Here we have all the finest elements of the genre; randomly generated levels, levelling up, hacking, slashing and looting, and the hair pulling torment of only having one life in which to complete your quest. Die once and it's game over fuck face! No saves, checkpoints or cutesy characters offering tips, just you against the computer's random levels and monsters.

REVIEW - Red Rogue (PC Indie)

We're Going Deeper Underground

Another entry into the ever popular action Roguelike genre, this time hailed by its creator as an unofficial sequel to 1980's Rogue. Red Rogue manages to carve out a niche all of its own due to its stylish and minimal visual approach and deep gameplay. As a Roguelike it conforms to the usual staples seemingly required by law to categorise it as such. It is a dungeon crawler with randomly generated levels and permadeath for your character should you come a cropper during play. While a 2D platformer approach to the genre, much like Spelunky, it borrows heavily from the game that inspired an entire genre, Rogue itself. 

REVIEW - Organ Trail : Director's Cut (PC Indie)

With both zombie games eternally beloved by gamers, and parody games finding popularity recently, Organ Trail, here in Director's Cut form, is a fine example of how to blend humour and blood letting. It's a zombie spoof of a classic educational title (yes, really) that was developed way back in the 1970's called The Oregon Trail. In this (supposed) learning aid players were tasked with guiding a group of pioneers across the real life Oregon Trail, a 2000 mile expanse across the United States that settlers navigated in the first half of the 19^th century. The game hit widespread popularity in the mid 1980's when it was ported to the Apple 2, the computer found in most schools in North America at the time. Kids must have been thrilled. Here was a legitimate way to play video games in school. It was hardly the blast-a-thon they probably craved, but given the lack of other options they made do, and began to enjoy the deep gameplay on offer. The game went on to be a cult classic, and received many updates, including a recent version on the 3DS. Now, I am assuming that a large amount of the appeal of Organ Trail lies with the nostalgia and amusement factor of playing a zombie spoof of a game you experienced at school. As I have never played the game before I feel like I may not be the target audience for this re-imagining. But on the plus side, I can review the game with no rose tinted spectacles clouding my judgement!

REVIEW - Teleglitch (PC) In space, no one can hear you scream!

Teleglitch is a brand new top down roguelike that blends action and horror to great effect. In this nightmarish vision of the future you assume the role of a scientist who is the only survivor of an experiment gone wrong in a military research centre on Medusa C-1. Upon arrival you find that the previous occupants have been performing dangerous experiments, with predictably disastrous results. The complex is overrun with hideous genetic experiments, zombies, robots, and all sorts of crazed monsters out to tear you asunder.

The first thing you will notice are the incredibly lo-fi graphics, grainy and distorted, they are small and extremely pixelated, but rather than detract from the game, it actually adds a grimy, sinister feel. Indeed the visual style brings to mind Id software's Doom and its follow up Quake; the abandoned military installation filled with demonic hordes is pure Doom, and the gritty colours, and eerie sounds instantly reminded me of the first Quake game. Add in the sci-fi horror storyline of System Shock, and the frantic, claustrophobic fire fights and switch pressing of Alien Breed and you are some way to describing Teleglitch. The music is non existent, but the constant space like hums and drones, as well as the hissing of opening doors, and shrieks of creatures give the game an atmosphere reminiscent of Ridley Scott's Alien movies. The aesthetics give the game a great atmosphere and sense of immersion, which will soon have you absorbed into its terrifying world.