Is Mountain A Form Of Modernism Or Just Another Screensaver?


Posted on July 19, 2016 by Kyle Scarboro

Is Mountain a form of modernism or a screensaver? On one hand, Mountain offers a serene landscape and a breathtaking view of a mountain. On the other hand, it ages and becomes its own identity. Mountain lets you look at all sides and the more you look, the more it grows. What sets this mountain apart from other games? A game that offers no control of the outcome, but draws you in.

 

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Mountain was created by David O’Reilly and is a relaxing simulator where its art is defined as not just art, but art horror. Why is it considered art horror? The art is understandable but why horror? We will go into that a little later. If you are a fan of the movie Her, then you might have seen David O’Reilly’s work. The game’s the main protagonist plays are a collection of his works. Unfortunately, those games you cannot play. So instead, David O’Reilly gives us Mountain, a small taste of what he has stored up in his head.

 

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When we think about games we think of a range of things: full controller support, saving, music and sound effects, progression, character design, story, begin and end, protagonist and antagonist, etc.. While this game has some of those elements, it boasts a whole new mindset to instill into the player.

Upon entering the game you are greeted with a very lush and green hill top. Sound effects in the background of blowing wind or chirping birds may come up and clouds blowing past. You spin this hunk of land and you see nothing but a normal looking mountain . You look underneath this massive landmark and you see gravel and foundation. This mountain is floating in space and is surrounded by an aura to keep in the atmosphere.

Overtime, it may rain or snow, but you soon realize that is just a common thing that happens naturally. This is everything you see in the first minutes of game play.

 

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Once you realize that you can’t do anything but look at this monument, you leave it on in the background thinking you might have just bought a screensaver.

Suddenly, a thought pops up in the upper left-hand corner. Some omnipresent being is having a thought while observing.

As the time passes and music cues in, you start to realize things that were not there before. Your mountain starts growing new things and evolving into its own identity.

This is one of the game’s unique features. Once you start the game, you cannot start it over. Each mountain is unique to the gamer. As it slowly spins, more things show up on it. The longer you have the program running the older the mountain becomes.

 

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My mountain is in its infancy, so there is a giant toy block to represent its age. At night, little pixies dance in the trees. It has an adorable look to it. If the day is clear, then the omnipresent voice might type how it wishes to share this with somebody. When the day is rainy and dreary, the voice might express matching emotions, which gives you mixed feelings of who this lonely person is.

After every new dawn, you are greeted to a chime and the game saves for you making sure you did not lose any progress as you leave the game open. Thus, the cycle continues.

 

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What makes this game different from other simulation type games. I think it has something to do with an underlining story and you are the audience watching it unfold. Instead of naturally progressing the game yourself, you are reading this story as it is happening, almost like raising a child.

I think that is where the horror comes in. For new parents, it is a crazy ride and you don’t know what to expect. The danger and fear around every corner and not knowing what will happen next. You may have limited control, but you just have to take it day by day. The messages you get are an inner monologue and interpretation of what a child may be thinking as it sees the world through its eyes. The mountain grows as it ages, like a child would and if you stop watching for a moment something amazing might happen. Art is supposed to be interpreted several hundred ways and this is what I see.

Enjoy

For a game that is only $0.99, I recommend giving it a shot. See what bundle of joy you can create and leave a snapshot in the comments below!


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SUMMER SALE! GAMES YOU SHOULD PLAY: ONE FINGER DEATH PUNCH


Posted on July 2, 2016 by Kyle Scarboro

THROUGHOUT STEAM’S SUMMER SALE, I WILL BE REVIEWING GAMES THAT ARE RIPE FOR THE PICKING. THESE GAMES ARE HIDDEN GEMS THAT I THINK WOULD BE WORTH YOUR TIME AND HARD EARNED LUNCH MONEY. SOME GAMES WILL BE NEW AND SOME WILL BE OLDER TITLES, BUT ALL GAMES WILL BE ON SALE AND THAT IS TRULY WHAT MATTERS. SO WITHOUT FURTHER ADO, LET US MEET OUR NEXT CONTESTANT!

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ONE FINGER DEATH PUNCH
PLATFORM:  PC, XBOX 360, IOS, ANDROID
DEVELOPER: SILVER DOLLAR GAMES
PUBLISHER: SILVER DOLLAR GAMES & MOBIRIX (ANDROID, IOS)

RELEASE DATE: MAR 3, 2014
MSRP:  $4.99
SALE: (50% OFF) $2.49 

 

One Finger Death Punch is not your typical action & beat ’em up game. It is much, much more than that. This gory and fast paced game has one of the most simplistic controls for any game. There are two buttons you need to push for ultimate glory; left key and right key. One Finger Death Punch was Microsoft’s Dream.Build.Play grand prize winner in 2012. If you read my last review, this makes two games that Microsoft truly helped this project get off the ground. created by the team at Silver Dollar Games, this is their first game created and they certainly set the bar high for themselves. Let us dive in and see what makes this game so grand and soon the student will become the master.

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SUMMER SALE! GAMES YOU SHOULD PLAY: DUST: AN ELYSIAN TAIL


Posted on June 30, 2016 by Kyle Scarboro

THROUGHOUT STEAM’S SUMMER SALE, I WILL BE REVIEWING GAMES THAT ARE RIPE FOR THE PICKING. THESE GAMES ARE HIDDEN GEMS THAT I THINK WOULD BE WORTH YOUR TIME AND HARD EARNED LUNCH MONEY. SOME GAMES WILL BE NEW AND SOME WILL BE OLDER TITLES, BUT ALL GAMES WILL BE ON SALE AND THAT IS TRULY WHAT MATTERS. SO WITHOUT FURTHER ADO, LET US MEET OUR NEXT CONTESTANT!

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DUST: AN ELYSIAN TAIL
PLATFORM: PC, MAC, LINUX, XBOX 360, PS4, IOS
CREATED BY: DEAN DODRILL
DEVELOPER: HUMBLE HEARTS
PUBLISHER: MICROSOFT STUDIOS
COMPOSER: HYPERDUCK SOUNDWORKS
RELEASE DATE: AUG 15, 2012
MSRP:  $14.99
SALE: (80% OFF) $2.99 

Dust: An Elysian Tail is an Action-Platform-RPG. Dean Dodrill, a self-taught animator and illustrator. Other than the soundtrack and ADR, as well as a few parts in the story, Dean programmed and designed the whole game. Dodrill submitted his concept to Microsoft’s Dream.Build.Play Challenge in 2009 and won. He would spend over three years following the competition to bring this game to life. With his release, Dust: An Elysian Tail was met with universal praise. High scores across all outlets and even Steam community gives it an Overwhelming Positive rating with over 12,000 reviews. So does Dust: An Elysian Tail live up to this grade? Lets find out!

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Summer Sale! Games You Should Play: HammerWatch


Posted on June 25, 2016 by Kyle Scarboro

It is that time of the year (For our Northern Hemisphere readers). The days are long and school is out! The sun is shining and….STEAM IS HAVING THEIR SUMMER SALE?!

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Okay, enough with the cheese. Let us get down to the meat and potatoes of this sacred occasion.

Throughout Steam’s Summer Sale, I will be reviewing games that are ripe for the picking. These games are hidden gems that I believe would be worth your time and hard earned lunch money. Some games will be new and some will be older titles, but all games will be on sale and that is truly what matters. So without further ado, let us meet our first contestant!

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ITS: Into The Stars


Posted on April 18, 2016 by Kyle Scarboro

Title

Word around the information super highway is that this little game, aptly named Into the Stars, is a hybrid of Star Trek Commander and FTL: Faster Than Light, but is it really? The people have spoken and the people are generally right. Into the Stars is filling the void of the lack of spaceship commander based games that are out there. With inspiration gathered from these games and mixing it with a collection of modern ideas and stunning graphics, Into the Stars is paving the way and breaking ground on a genre that has not been explored to its full potential yet.

Into the Stars is the first title to come out of the California based studio Fugitive Games and published by Iceberg Interactive based out of The Netherlands. With just a team of four at Fugitive Games, they managed to squeeze out some of the finest graphics in a space based game that I’ve seen from the Unreal Engine 4. Though, the level of artistry and talent comes at no surprise when mentioning the team behind this game. Being former EA DICE and Spark Unlimited developers means that this game should be held at a higher pillar than most. Some of their past titles they’ve worked on are Lost Planet, Battlefield, and Medal of Honor. If working on AAA titles wasn’t enough, they managed to get Jack Wall to work on their soundtrack. For those who do not know Jack Wall’s works, he is the man behind Myst IV, Jade Empire, Splinter Cell: Pandora Tomorrow, Lost Planet 3, but most notably from the Mass Effect series.

Like most small developing teams these days, Into the Stars was conceived by crowd funding through Kickstarter and surpassed their goal on January 16th, 2015 and by their last day on February 4th, they managed to raise over $110,000. By early July, they were Greenlit through Steam and up for Early Access. Now into 2016, their game is finally released, but does it hold up to the ideals they instilled in their 4,000+ backers and many others who helped through early access?

Story+

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Kôna: Day One or How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love Canadia


Posted on March 7, 2016 by Kyle Scarboro

Intro

Let me just say that out of the gate, Kôna Day One captures the idea and view I have of Canada: Ice Age.

Heh, all joking aside, I really liked this game. I got to see a little of it at PAX Prime last year and I was intrigued with what they were going to do with it. This game is a multi-episodic game and Day One just refers to Episode One, so if you thought this was an one shot, then you would be mistaken.

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Game Reviews Done Quick: Crypt of the Necrodancer


Posted on February 19, 2016 by Kyle Scarboro

Title

Crypt of the Necrodancer is *breathe* Hardcore, Turn-based, Rogue-like, Dungeon-crawling, Rhythm-based game. *exhaaaallleeee*

This game has you battling your way through a crypt full of smooth groovin, high flyin, street jivin, monsters ranging from skeletons, zombies, bats, dragons, and more.

Crypt of the Necrodancer is a game that clearly had a great idea for a game and then they tacked on a story. Usually that is not the way to go, but this game offers a lot in such a small package that it is hardly the focal point.Read More


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The Political Machine 2016: The Invasion of the Bobbleheads


Posted on February 10, 2016 by Kyle Scarboro

Greetings Citizens,

It is 2016 and the political machine is being fired up and sent into overdrive. A firestorm of ads, interviews, fundraising, and debates are being thrown together one after another. Candidates from across the nation are kissing babies and shaking hands and doing everything in their power not to confuse the two! So with these things going on, the people at the Stardock Corporation has thrown together The Political Machine 2016, where the citizens of this great nation can enjoy all this fun and wacky times in video game form. While Stardock Corporation is not known for any big titles, this is the third game in the series. This game will show and hopefully teach you about the world of politics….I hope.

Going into this game, I felt like i knew enough about hot button issues and what to expect about how politics work, but what I did not know is how this game actually worked and if I could handle it. I started off the game on easy mode with 200% profits and the shortest amount of time. I basically wanted to see what being an overlord was like and having fame across the nation.

The game gives you an even amount of people to choose from, which is surprising, considering how the date this article was written, that it is still 2 Democrats & a small country’s worth of Republicans. The game brings in “what if” people like Al Gore, Bill Clinton, Joe Biden, and Elizabeth Warren to name a few.

On my first play through, I tried to think of who would make the best overlord. He would have to be a face in the media that everyone would know, has no problem saying what thinks and thinks what he says, rich, and someone who has the knowledge and personality of a bobble head….and then, he descended, like a gold encrusted hero to the people!

President Trump

Trumpinator9000. (Seems like a name he would chose for himself if he was a beginning gamer.)Read More


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Darkest Dungeon: “There Can Be No Bravery Without Madness!”


Posted on February 5, 2016 by Kyle Scarboro

Darkest Dungeon is the birth child of indie game developers Chris Bourassa and Tyler Sigman with the help of their studio, Red Hook Studios. This is their first game and they are coming out of the gate strong! Darkest Dungeon is a Kickstarter funded, Roguelike Gothic RPG, and was successfully funded back in February 2014 and earned over $300,000 when only asked for $75,000. It is quite impressive to see what a group can come up with when they do not have large pockets to work with. A year later on February 3rd, 2015, Darkest Dungeon Early Access was launched on Steam, garnishing the game with overall very positive reviews and a Metacritic score of 86/100  This game has gone on to sell over 700k copies since its release on January 19th, 2016.

 

So what makes this game good? Did they stumble upon the underwater city of R’lyeh and prey to The Great Old One for inspiration and guidance? Maybe…let’s find out!

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Celebrating 20 Years of Pokémon!


Posted on January 12, 2016 by Kyle Scarboro

Want to feel old? This year marks the 20th anniversary of Pokémon. It is crazy how quickly twenty years have passed since Pikachu captured the hearts of so many children. (It does not look like he plans to give back your hearts anytime soon.)

After twenty years, the Pokémon franchise is stronger than ever. Still releasing games, trading cards, new anime series, manga, and more. What do you do when you have such a huge fan base after so many years? You give back to the ones who made you into what you are today!

#Pokemon20 is just the tip of the iceberg. The company is reaching out to their fans and urging and encouraging to share your favorite moments on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Youtube, Tumblr, etc., and for every moment captured, yours might be chosen to get something special. What that special something is is a mystery. If you would like to take a trip down memory lane or see other’s photos posted, then click here for more.

You may be wondering if that is all they have to offer? Heck no!

Nintendo knows what you want and they are sparing no one!

On February 27th, Nintendo is releasing a special 3DS bundle! (Venusaur gets no love) Which includes a pre-installed copy of Pokémon Red, Pokémon Blue, & Pokémon Yellow. It also includes a special Pokémon menu theme.

 

What is that? You want more? You are not satisfied yet? Okay, how about this..

Throughout 2016, you will be getting one of these lovely legendary Pokémon every month. Mew will be distributed from February 1st through February 24th at Gamespot, Celebi will run from March 1st through March 24th on the Nintendo Network, Jirachi in April on the Nintendo Network, Darkrai in May at Gamestop, Manaphy in June via Nintendo Network, Shaymin in July via Nintendo Network, Arceus in August via Gamestop, Victini in September via Nintendo Network, Keldeo in October via Nintendo Network, Genesect in November at Gamespot in the US, and Meloetta in December via Nintendo Network. European details will be revealed soon.

Finally, Nintendo will be releasing a new expansion for the Pokémon Trading Card Game called Generations in February. It is a throwback to the original 151 and the main stars of the series. If you are a true fan of the OG, then there is no better time than now to jump in the TCG.

 


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