Gaming Zone

Developer:

Double Fine

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Release Date:

2015

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Systems:

Win, OS X, Linux, Ouya, iOS, Android, PS4, PSVita

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This month on Super Adventures I'm playing Broken Age, formerly known as Double Fine Adventure back in its Kickstarter days.

Though this isn't one of them Kickstarter success stories like Giana Sisters, FTL, Pillars of Eternity and the rest, this is THE Kickstarter success story, the one that kickstarted all the others by proving that game developers could actually crowd-fund niche video game projects that publishers would never touch. In this case Tim Schafer wanted to make an old school point-and-click adventure game like the ones he worked on at LucasArts during the 90s.

They asked for $400,000 ($300,000 for the game, $100,000 for a documentary), which seemed like they were pushing their luck a little, but soon people were lining up to take a risk in the hopes of getting another Day of the Tentacle, Full Throttle or Grim Fandango. They ended up raising a massive $3,336,371 in the end, which is clearly $3,038 too much. Except not really, as even after getting over 8 times the amount they wanted they still ran out of cash and had to split the game up into two parts, with their plan being to fund the second half with their earnings from the first half.

Broken Age: Act 1 came out in 2014 (just 2 years later than planned), but I've written 2015 up there as the release date because I'm playing the complete product here, with both acts welded together into one seamless whole. I remember that its second act wasn't all that well received, on account of it being bastard hard due to overcompensation after criticism of Act 1, but that's about where my knowledge of the game ends, so I'm not really sure what to expect from this. Though I'm hoping it's like a cross between Broken Sword and Dragon Age, or maybe Brain Age and... damn I can't think of another game with 'Broken' in the title.

By the way, the game supports widescreen just fine, but it's making me rescale the window manually by dragging the edges around and every time I start it up it resets to defaults, so I'm leaving the title screen how I found it to teach Double Fine a lesson. Also I think I like it better in 4:3 anyway, as there's more clouds.

(Click the screenshots to view them slightly bigger than they are here but not as big as they'd be for most players.)
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Developer:

Felistella

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Release Date:

2015

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Systems:

Windows, PS Vita

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This week on Super Adventures I'm playing another RPG! But not the pretty 16-bit pixelled kind I'm afraid. I keep promising to play more retro games and yet somehow here I am playing the most modern JRPG on my site so far.

I've got no idea what I'm getting into here, as all I really know about HyperDimension Neptunia Re;Birth1 is that it's a enhanced port/remake of an older game and that it's got a shitload of sequels. Oh, I also know that the characters are the human avatars of game consoles who've all manifested as young women, because... anime.

Somehow I'm getting the feeling this one might be aimed more at blokes than ladies and there may be shameless fan service coming up, but like I said I don't really know. Though I'm feeling a bit guilty for leaving these three hovering in the air for so long, waiting for me to take that DVD off their hands, so I'll select 'NEW GAME' and see what happens.

(Click the screenshots to open them at their original resolution.)
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Developer:

Mighty Rabbit

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Release Date:

2015

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Systems:

Win, Linux, Mac

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This month on Super Adventures, I'm playing Unity 5-powered special forces sequel Breach & Clear: nF?nLIN?. Uh, I mean Breach & Clear: DEADline, or perhaps just Breach & Clear: Deadline; I'm getting conflicting information on that and as usual the logo's in all caps so it's no use.

As the name hints, this is the follow up to tactical counter-terrorism game Breach & Clear, though I'm sure it has very little to do with tactical counter-terrorism game Deadline, and I'm doubly certainly there's no connection to "authentic hotel maintenance simulation" Breach & Clean. I can detect a little Call of Duty influence though, as the game's gone from modern warfare straight to... hnng... zombies.

Zombies man, it's always the fucking zombies. Why is it never wizards? Breach & Clear & Dragons: Origins, it could totally work!

I'm coming into this entirely blind, as I've never seen the game, I didn't play it in Early Access, and I know next to nothing about it. In fact I went to do my normal research, looking for some stuff to write up here, and it seems that neither Wikipedia or MobyGames have an entry for it. So if you've ever wanted to add a game to either site and leave a semi-permanent mark on history, now's your big chance!

But one thing I do know about the game, and this is something you should definitely be aware of, is that a friend of mine worked on it. So I can't promise I'll be entirely fair in my assessment of the game. But this site's about showing games off as much as it is about my opinions, and I can still do that while being biased. So if you decide to carry on reading, keep repeating to yourself "This guy's predisposed to be nice to the game," in your head the whole time, and then ignore all my conclusions.

(Click any screenshot to expand it to twice its current size!)
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Developer:

n-Space + Digital Extremes

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Release Date:

2015

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Systems:

Windows, Mac, Linux

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This week on Super Adventures I'm playing a few hours of shiny new RPG Sword Coast Legends! Well it's pretty new, as it came out in October 2015.

I'm really curious about this one as it's the first proper Baldur�s Gate-style 'Dungeons & Dragons' RPG since Obsidian's Neverwinter Nights 2 a decade ago. The thing is though, it's by n-Space, the people who brought the world games like Mary-Kate and Ashley: Crush Course and Hannah Montana: The Movie, when they weren't busy porting first person shooters to the DS. But Dragon Age: Origins director Dan Tudge joined the company to lead development on the game, and that's got to be a good sign. It also means I'll likely be typing 'Dragon Age' a lot.

Sadly it seems like n-Space may have been better off on their path they were on, as this was their last game. After 22 years of game development, the company closed down last week.

Oh I should mention that I'm only playing the single player campaign. A big deal was made about the game's innovative multiplayer Dungeon Master Mode, which lets one player guide a group of others through their home-made dungeons, so be aware that it exists and I'm just ignoring it. Because I do that.

(Remember: clicking images will display higher resolution screenshots.)
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Super Adventures is five years old today! Not a huge surprise considering that the site gets a year older at the end of every January, but worth noting I think. Also worth noting is that I've retired the tired worn out rubbish boring old 2015 logo and replaced with it a shiny new 2016 model. Less fire, more curves and pointy bits.

Last year I decided to celebrate by playing a classic Zelda game and a whole lot of Marios, and I've been struggling to think of how I could possibly follow them up. Then I saw that the GameFAQs community had come together to agree on a new Best Game Ever and I realised I had the perfect game to kick off Super Adventures in Gaming - Year Six:

Developer:

Toby Fox

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Release Date:

2015

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Systems:

Windows, Mac

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This week on Super Adventures I'm having a quick look at the notorious Undertale! I've heard that it's an RPG, probably, but I'm not actually sure.

One thing I do know about the game (aside from the fact it's a contender for the 'Lowest Resolution Title Screen on Super Adventures' award), is that it's another one of those Kickstarter success stories. It didn't quite make as much as Wasteland 2 or even Giana Sisters: Twisted Dreams, but bringing in $51,124 wasn't bad at all considering the goal was $5000. You can bet it's made a lot more than that in the five months since release.

Everyone says to go into the game blind, so I made a special effort to keep myself utterly unspoiled on it. I've heard the terms 'pacifist route', 'genocide route' and 'skeleton date' being thrown around, but I'm fuzzy on the details. So I'm not just pretending to be clueless for this, I really am clueless.

But I can't show the game without showing the game, so I'm sorry if I end up spoiling all the potential jokes and surprises that may (or may not) be at the start. I'm only planning to play the first hour or so though, basically what's covered by the demo I expect, so I with any luck I won't be giving the game away.

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Developer:

Tendershoot & A Jolly Corpse

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Release Date:

2015

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Systems:

Windows, Mac, Linux

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This week the internet is going totally batshit Star Wars crazy due the upcoming release of 'The Force Awakens', so today I'm going to be playing.... another game about a clown. Didn't really think this one through did I? Next time I get ideas about planning ahead I'm going to look up some movie release dates first.

Anyway you've found your way to Super Adventures, where I'll be having a look at Dropsy, a self-proclaimed 'point and click hugventure game'. More like a drop and kick clownventure game...

It was a gift from a friend though (a friend who knows how much I like clowns), so I'll be nice and give it a fair chance. I'll even take some screenshots and write words under them so you can benefit from his cruel generosity!

I already knew beforehand that the game has something to do with folks on the Something Awful forums, but I've just done the bare minimum of research and it turns out that the character's first hugventure actually took place in a forum thread back in 2008. People would throw out suggestions for what Dropsy should do next and then the creator would pixel up the outcome in the form of a fake video game screenshot. Like a choose your own adventure story, in extreme slow motion. Three Kickstarter campaigns later and the clown's starring in his very own actual game, with clicking and animation and everything! So basically this is all the internet's fault.
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Developer:

IMakeGames

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Release Date:

2015

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Systems:

Windows, Mac, Linux, iOS and Android

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Last week on Super Adventures, I played a game with 'Super' in the title and this time fate has given me one with 'Adventure'. Haven't had one of these on my site since, hmm... Squirt's Adventure around this time last year. Fun fact: through absolutely no effort of my own, 'super' and 'adventure(s)' are actually the two most frequent words to show up in video game titles on my site (with 'final' and 'fantasy' right below them). 'Nubs' on the other hand is definitely down near the bottom.

Nubs' Adventure is the latest indie platformer by the guy who created Rico: A Tale of Two Brothers, which I apparently thought was very playable. I mean I can't actually remember playing it (I've gone through about 150 games in the meantime, my poor brain can only store so many platformers in it), but the article I wrote seems positive enough. This time around I'm playing with a Steam key sent to me from the developer so I'll be wearing my 'serious video game reviewer' hat. Well my 'serious quick look' hat anyway, as I'll only be showing off the first hour or two.

(You can click the screenshots to view them at their original resolution if you feel like, but you'll mostly just get chunkier pixels for your trouble.)
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