Image update

I mentioned in my last post that all of the images were down from the entire blog. Obviously, this is a big deal for a videogame review site, as screenshots are a big part of the experience.

The good news is that I've managed to get most of the images back online thanks to google images holding cached copies, as well as enough context for me to be able to figure out where to put them.

The bad news is that there are about a dozen reviews that I couldn't locate cached images for. For these I'll have to take the time to recreate them as best as I can and hope for the best.

Hopefully, all of this will be behind me soon, and I can get back to releasing more reviews!

Image problems

Hi, there is a problem with the images on this blog right now, so you won't see any screenshots in the posts right now. I'm working on the issue, and will hopefully have all of these images back up soon!

Batman: Arkham Origins Blackgate (Armature Studio/Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment, 2013)

When Batman: Arkham Asylum was first released, it looked interesting, but I didn't have anything that would run it. Thankfully, it wasn't long before the Onlive service launched and I was able to stream it through my aging laptop. I was hooked on the series and had to pre-order Arkham City. With Arkham Origins, I waited until a Steam sale because I was a little worried about the change in developers. When I did finally get around to playing Origins, it was mostly because I'd just picked up a game I was really looking forward to. A game that takes place right after the events of Origins. A game that promised something a little different. A game called Batman: Arkham Origins Blackgate.

Batman: Arkham Origins Blackgate was originally released exclusively for the handhelds Sony Vita and Nintendo 3DS. Since then it's been released on a larger variety of platforms, making it easier to find. I picked up the 3DS version which while at a lower resolution than the Vita release, and with lower quality textures, still looks better to me thanks to the stereoscopic 3D effect of the 3DS screen. Most 3DS users I know have long since given up on the 3D effect by now, but it still looks good to me, so I always keep it cranked.

When Batman: Arkham Asylum was first released, its design flow drew many comparisons to the Metroid series and the games that it has influenced. I mentioned in my Guacamelee review what a soft spot I have for the metroidvania genre, and Arkham Asylum did not disappoint. Later sequels moved away from this to more of an open world style with entire cities to explore. Arkham Origins Blackgate not only returns to the series' more claustrophobic roots, it even switches from an over the shoulder camera to a classic side view providing an even more authentic metroidvania experience!

One of the biggest design innovations found in Blackgate is how it constantly tries to blur the line between 2.5D platformer and full 3D adventure. The action primarily happens in 2 dimensions as you move either left or right, but at any corner or intersection you can choose to turn, and the camera will swivel to follow. Many corridors have the camera at more of a following angle providing a God of War style cinematic quality beyond the standard side scroller. Specific actions also lead to close-ups and perspective angles. It's a unique experience that while is at times confusing, shows immense promise for being an entirely new genre of gaming perspective which will hopefully be seen more in future games, either by Armature themselves or at least some ambitious imitators.

Converting a series from a 3D Beat 'em Up to a 2.5D platformer brings with it a number of necessary changes, yet satisfying existing fans of the series requires limiting those changes as much as possible. The first place you'll notice this is in the game's combat. The Batman: Arkham series has been built on its addictive flowing group combat with just the right combination of strategy, QTEs, and good old fashioned button mashing. Arkham Origins Blackgate does its best to fit this into a 2D plane. Actually, it fits it into a couple 2D planes. To better replicate the mob combat aspects of the previous games, enemies approach on foreground and background layers that you switch seamlessly between while attacking back and forth. It does a better job than I expected, but felt a bit more on the strategy side and less on the flowy side.

As I mentioned in my review of Batman: Arkham Origins, it's not a Batman game without gadgets, and many of the series favorites return here reimagined for this new format. such as the Batarang, Batclaw, and Explosive Gel, as well as the detective mode. While all of these have been reworked in order to fit this style of gameplay, I was surprised by how well they maintain the feel of the earlier games. Along with the bat-tools themselves, environmental features also translate well such as floor grates and vent shafts to provide hidden passage, and elevated perches to attack silently from. The thrill of entering a large room full of machine gun wielding thugs you'll need to cleverly take out one at a time is still here.

For better or worse, I decided to play Batman: Arkham Origins Blackgate almost immediately after finishing Batman: Arkham Origins, so I couldn't help but be critical of the differences. Now obviously I didn't expect this 3DS title to match the graphic quality of it's predecessor running on a high end PC, but I couldn't help but feel a little disappointed at the lack of detail each time there was a close-up. That's not to say that the graphics are bad however, far from it. In fact, had I waited a week or two before starting this one, I probably wouldn't have noticed the difference much at all.

The controls were also a bit of an adjustment. I'd played Origins using a 360 gamepad, and the Blackgate controls were close, but due to the smaller number of buttons, obviously not the same. The on-screen prompts also took some adjustment due to the differences in button placement between Nintendo controllers and Xbox controllers.  Even though I was obviously use to pushing the button at the bottom to open doors, I can't count the number of times I swung my cape at the wall instead because the prompt said to press "B". As with the graphics, a week or so between games would have probably resolved the issue, but jumping straight from one to the other was a little odd.

As a compromise between the go wherever you want nature of open world games and the more linear if backtracking heavy nature of metroidvania titles, Arkham Origins Blackgate provides a degree of Megaman inspired freedom to choose your own path. Blackgate prison is divided into three separate compounds, each controlled by a different one of Batman's arch enemies. While there are sections of each requiring equipment found only in another area, they can be explored in any order, and the stories run parallel to each other, all leading up to the big finale. There are also a handful of collection quests thrown in, but no real side missions. Still, it's nice to have the option of pursuing a different path when you get stumped by the puzzling area you're stuck on.

With the combat being simplified from the other games of the series, I was expecting the boss battles to be tedious exercises in patiently wearing down a health meter while avoiding overpowered attacks. Instead, I was pleasantly surprised by the amount of inventiveness displayed in these encounters. Rather than being a simple one on one duel, these boss fights are treated more as environmental puzzles requiring you to utilize your surroundings as well as the various gadgets in your bag of tricks to weaken your opponent's defenses and expose vulnerable weak spots. It's the type of inventiveness I hope becomes more of a trend in future games.

In my Batman: Arkham Origins review, I mentioned how the pre-rendered cut-scenes broke the immersion of the experience by showing how good the game could have looked. I was expecting this to be even more of an issue with Blackgate due to the lower level of detail, but they went a different direction with it. Returning to Batman's comic book roots, the between level cinematics use an animated hand drawn style. Not fully animated as a cartoon, but more as if the panels of a comic were given subtle movement. These are fully voiced and pull you into the store in an attractive way that doesn't spoil the look of the gameplay sequences.

Without a doubt, the strangest aspect of Batman: Arkham Origins Blackgate was the map screen. As with most side scrolling metroidvania style platform adventures, you'll spend a lot of time studying your map as you explore and backtrack throughout the maze-like environments. It drives many gamers insane, but for fans of the genre, it's what makes it special. What's strange here is that even though the game plays entirely from a side perspective, the map is from a top down view. There's no indication of height, and it's often unclear how exactly to turn a corner to head a different direction. The perspective sometimes flips as well so that left on the screen corresponds to right on the map. Sure, it's more realistic than the standard practice of entirely flat architecture, but it never quite felt right.

So, who should play Batman: Arkham Origins Blackgate? First of all, I'd recommend it to Batman fans. It's a solid experience of living briefly as our favorite Dark Knight. Second, fans of metroidvania games who aren't afraid of trying something a little different will likely enjoy it. But what about fans of the already established Batman: Arkham series? That's a bit more tricky. Sure it has a similar look, and tries hard to replicate the feel, and while it often reminds the player of the other games, it never really feels entirely like one of them. Is that a bad thing? No, but it is a warning that if you're looking for more of the same, this isn't it.

Batman: Arkham Origins (Warner Bros. Games Montréal/Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment, 2013)

It's always a risky prospect when a different team takes over a popular franchise. Will they take it in exciting new directions? Will they destroy everything that made the series unique in the first place? Will they just put out more of the same and never innovate? Will they change it too much so it's no longer recognizable? There are innumerable fears and possibilities, and with good reason. Over the years there have been both hits and misses. Bioshock 2 is generally considered the least enjoyable of the trilogy, Metroid: The Other M strayed too far from the winning Prime series formula, and Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel has been getting a fairly luke-warm response. It's not always bad news though, as Halo 4 showed that the series could live on without Bungie, Capcom made some well regarded Legend of Zelda games, and Guitar Hero 3 broke sales records not just for the series, but for the industry. But what about Batman? In the world of cinema, Batman Forever completely shattered the image created by the Tim Burton films, and even fans of the modern Batman movies are more than a little worried about the upcoming Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice. But, I'm not here to talk about movies. I'm here to talk about games, and specifically, I'm here to talk about Batman: Arkham Origins.

The first thing that needs to be pointed out about Batman: Arkham Origins is that a lot of care was obviously put into recreating the feel of the first two games. All of Gotham City is open to you to explore this time, so it has the open world grand Theft Auto meets Legend of Zelda feel of Arkham City, but there are also plenty of sprawling indoor locations to investigate bringing out the claustrophobic Metroid inspired feel that the original Arkham Asylum had. Overall it's a great mix of both games made into something new.

Arkham City ended with the death of one of the main characters of the series leading many to wonder how the story could continue on. For the time being at least, that question was side-stepped since Batman: Arkham Origins is, as its name would suggest, a prequel to the existing games of the series. The origins of Batman have been told many times in various media. We've had two separate movies about Batman's early crime fighting adventures, several graphic novels, flashback scenes in the cartoons and comics, and even an ongoing TV series about Bruce Wayne's early years. This game offers a rare chance to play out these early days in an interactive format. Sure, 1989's Batman and 2005's Batman Begins both had games base on them, but in those you were mostly following a script, rather than existing in a world. There's just an amusing feeling you get when creeping along a roof ledge eavesdropping on a group of criminals as they debate whether or not you exist moments before jumping out of the shadows at them.

While we're on the subject of listening to the dialog, it should be pointed out that Batman: Arkham Origins has an entirely new voice cast. The previous games reassembled the voice actors from Batman: The Animated Series, including Mark Hamill delivering an amazing performance as the Joker. When I first heard that this game was recasting all of the parts, I was worried that it would be going in a different direction, but luckily this was not the case. The new actors actually sound a lot like the old cast, and deliver the same dark mood the series thrives on. While Troy Baker might not be quite the scene-stealer that Hamill was, he still manages to deliver a powerful performance, even if The Joker does have a much smaller role in the story this time. Roger Craig Smith does such a great job filling Kevin Conroy's shoes voicing Batman himself, that it's hardly noticeable that we have a whole new cast. Granted, about a year and a half had passed since I'd played Arkham City, so playing through the series back to back may lead to a more offsetting experience.

So, other than the cast, what's new this time around? Actually, not all that much. It seems that the new developers didn't want to rock the boat too much in their maiden voyage, focusing instead on delivering a new story within the comfortable environment of familiar gameplay from the earlier games, which was probably a pretty good call on their part. There have been a few new additions however. One of the most innovative aspects of the Arkham series has been the Detective Mode which lets you analyze your environment and follow clues to help you throughout your adventure. This has been updated with a new Crime Scene Investigation mode that lets you recreate the events and view them from any angle as a holographic reenactment. I'll admit I had fun playing DJ with the playback as virtual explosions sent shrapnel flying across the room and back.

A s a Batman game, an assortment of bat-gadgets is always available, and this game is no exception. The standard Batarang, Batclaw, Explosive Gel, and Cryptographic Sequencer of previous Arkham games make return appearances along with a few new toys such as the Remote Claw and Shock Gloves. Nothing that changes the formula in substantial ways, but these new tricks do manage to help the game feel fresh.

Visually, Batman: Arkham Origins is a bit of a departure from the dirty grit of the series. Sure, there are some dirty gritty environments that you'll visit, but most of the game's world is actually pretty nice. Rather than being secluded to an overgrown penal colony, you are in Gotham City itself. Being a snowy xmas eve night, most of the citizens are safely at home and out of your way, leaving only the cops and the criminals, not mutually exclusive, out to play. If you have fond memories of any of the Batman Begins games of the early 90s then you might feel a bit of nostalgia as you swing the Caped Crusader among the fully decked halls of this festive winter wonderland.

While Arkham Asylum was mostly linear with a few scattered collectibles, Arkham City introduced the idea of more fleshed out side mission quest chains. Arkham Origins expands on this with a number of ongoing optional objectives to keep you occupied wherever you go. Some of these have practical purposes such as unlocking fast travel locations, but most are simply opportunities to gain additional experience points to put towards upgrading your equipment and abilities. While the previous titles provided customization through learning additional moves, you're presented here with a full skill tree rivaling many RPG titles.

One issue that has been bugging me more and more lately has been pre-rendered cutscenes. This game isn't alone in this issue, it did put the issue in the spotlight, especially later on in it. You see, there are two types of cutscenes, pre-rendered, and in-engine. Back in the 2D days, it was simple, either your sprites moved on their own with dialog text, or you saw custom images that looked much more detailed than the actual game. In the early 3D days, N64 games would generally just animate the game characters and camera in a more cinematic way, while the PS1 and its CD-ROM allowed for playing back video files that were put together beforehand using advanced lighting and rendering techniques. At the time, this provided a whole new view into the worlds of our games, and we didn't mind that everything looked completely different than during the levels. Now that the games themselves already look detailed and realistic, using pre-rendered cutscenes has a new effect, it points out how much better the game could look, but doesn't. After hours of playing Arkham Origins, your mind starts to accept it as reality. When the cutscenes suddenly have drastically different lighting, and the room you were just in looks far more detailed, you think maybe it didn't look as good as you thought. When you're then thrown back into the level, the amazing graphics you were so immersed in before are suddenly a disappointment. This isn't unique here, but it's something that I think needs more discussion.

Overall, I had a lot of fun with Batman: Arkham Origins. It had the same addictive combat/exploration/stealth/puzzle solving combination that made the series such a hit, with just enough new ideas to keep things interesting. It's not a ground breaking entry to the series, but it does prove that even without Rocksteady Studios behind it, the series can live on. I'm looking forward to seeing what Arkham Knights can add to this formula next year. Before I end this, I figured I'd add an interesting youtube compilation I stumbled across featuring nine different on-screen portrayals of the moment that created Batman...

The Legend of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds (Nintendo, 2013)

When Nintendo first announced the 3DS with The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time 3D as a launch title, my mind quickly began racing about the possibility of new original 3D Legend of Zelda adventures utilizing the Ocarina of Time engine. At the time, it was still a closely guarded secret that Majora's Mask 3D was also in the works. Years later, when the first 3DS exclusive Legend of Zelda title was finally announced, I was admittedly surprised that it bore little resemblance to Ocarina of Time, but I was even more caught off guard by how much it looked like another Zelda classic, A Link to the Past. This game of course was The Legend of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds.

The Legend of Zelda is a confusing series to follow. Not only are the games released in a different order than they take place, but there are also multiple timelines that run parallel to each other. While the occasional direct sequel does happen, it generally involves exploring a new area far from the events of the previous game as in Wind Waker to Phantom Hourglass or Ocarina of Time to Majora's Mask, or revisiting the same area so long after the events of the previous game that the world is unrecognizable as in Ocarina of time to Wind Waker or Phantom Hourglass to Spirit Tracks. A Link Between Worlds breaks this mold by returning us to the world of Link to the Past, released more than two decades earlier.

Although the graphics are presented in 3D polygons rather than 2D sprites, it's remarkable how well the look and feel of the Link to the Past map presents itself in this new format. If you're one of the many who has completed this classic SNES adventure on multiple occasions, you'll feel like you've returned home as you wander through familiar environments noticing the subtle changes that have occurred during the generations that have passed between these games. In addition, many of' the boss battles from Link to the Past have been reimagined in 3 dimensions, to make it that much more of a nostalgia trip.

It's worth noting that as consistently universally acclaimed as console Zelda titles have generally been, mobile titles of the series have been much more hit or miss. Oddly, it's generally been the Capcom produced mobile titles such as Minish Cap and the Oracle series that feel the most like true Zelda games, while Nintendo's own attempts such as Link's Awakening and the DS titles tend to have more of a lighthearted, childlike, and comical approach. With A Link Between Worlds, the big N has finally bucked that trend by actually taking a mobile Legend of Zelda game seriously, and producing something as emotionally moving and meaningful as many of the "real" games.

Okay, that's enough pretext into what the game isn't, but now let's talk about what The Legend of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds actually is.When you really look at it, A Link Between Worlds is a classic 2D Zelda game, simply rendered using modern technology. If you grew up on the old-school Zeldas, you'll feel right at home with this one. On the other hand, if you tend to think of Ocarina of Time as "the first one" and never could figure out why people made such a big deal out of the classics, then maybe this isn't the game for you.

While it would have looked a little different, most of A Link Between Worlds could have easily existed on the SNES or GBA and still been just as enjoyable. The exception to this is the game's biggest new feature, the ability to turn into a flat painting and travel along walls. Reminiscent of the indie platformer Sideway, Link can become a piece of living graffiti opening a hidden world within the world. Surprisingly, by becoming flat, the world becomes more 3D as the camera zooms in and follows you to allow movement around objects, letting you finally see what the backs of all of these houses look like. Paintings of hearts or rupees become real items in this mode, but so do painted enemies. The most inventive use of this ability is how it relates to exploration allowing you access to new areas of the overworld and dungeons, as well as the magical slits that lead between the two parallel worlds.

The parallel worlds scenario has been a staple of many Zelda adventures. Ocarina of Time and Oracle of Ages used time travel, while Oracle of Seasons presented four versions of the world, one for each season. A Link Between Worlds follows more along the path of Twilight Princess and, unsurprisingly, A Link to the Past by presenting a light and dark world. This dark version of Hyrule is called Lorule. Yes, it's a bad play on words, but luckily it's a rare exception. Unlike the previous dark world examples, Lorule has its own bustling population with their own problems and issues. The story focuses closely on the citizens of both kingdoms and how these worlds interact. Parts of the story reminded me of the second and third seasons of the show Fringe in how it handled this delicate balance.

In case you've played the DS titles and have less than fond memories of fumbling about with the stylus, you can rest assured that this time Nintendo has remembered how to use buttons again. Sure, the touch screen is still utilized for navigating menus and switching items, and works smoothly for those tasks, but for the most part you'll be using the hardware's actual controls for playing the game, which allows it the tight and responsive controls you'd expect from an action adventure game. No more having to blow into the microphone in the middle of a boss fight!

A Link Between Worlds does do its share of experimenting though, especially when it comes to the items. Ever since the original The Legend of Zelda, it's been the standard that each dungeon contains a new item, and usually these items allow you to reach the next dungeon's location in the overworld. These new goodies are acquired one at a time, giving you time to master each before getting distracted by your next new toy. And, as they say on Wheel of Fortune, once you win a prize, it's yours to keep. This time around, things are a bit different. Early on in the game, Link's house is converted into an item shop, but at first you are unable to purchase these items, only rent them.

This changes things up in a few ways. More items are available earlier on in the game, but you only have them until you die, making the prospect of running out of hearts much more threatening. Later on you also get the opportunity to purchase the items, if you have enough rupees that is. One of the problems Zelda games have had in the past is that at a certain point you simply run out of things to buy unless you're in a hurry to refill your ammo, and then the rupees become meaningless. This new approach allows you to have access to what you need, but still gives you motivation to save up towards it, making the economy of the game stay active longer.

But what about buying ammo? In past Zelda games I'd almost always have the boomerang equipped as my secondary item, at least until I got a hookshot. It made sense, a ranged weapon that could be used as often as I want without worries of resource management allows for more carefree gameplay. This Time, I tended to use the bombs and arrows much more than I had in the past. Why would this be? In the Zelda games, arrows and bombs are more than simply weapons for dispensing your foes, they are keys to unlock solutions to the puzzles blocking your path so you can continue on in your adventures. Running out of either in regular combat could mean having to backtrack when you reach that next roadblock. A Link Between Worlds uses a recharging mechanic that is shared between all of your items, as well as your wall painting mode. This takes the pressure off, and lets you bomb away without fear.

From what I've seen in discussion boards, reviews, and simply in casual conversations, the most divisive aspect of A Link Between Worlds is the art style. The art team on this game had a clear vision to recreate the look and feel of A Link to the Past, and make it come to life in 3D. They pulled this off beautifully, even though it meant modeling vertical objects at strange angles in order to replicate the impossible perspectives implied by its 2D predecessor. Unfortunately, recreating the hand drawn cartoon style in a more solid form lends it a strange look that some find to be too simple and lacking detail. Those less familiar with the earlier games especially seem to be turned off by the visuals, while those of us with fond memories of Link's 8 and 16-bit days tend to be more appreciative of this style. You'll have to decide for yourself what to think on this point.

Since this is a 3DS release, it's worth mentioning the actual stereoscopic 3D aspects. Being a top down 2.5D style game on mostly flat planes, the 3D effects are mostly subtle. They do give a little more depth to things, but for most of the game you won't miss much if you turn down the 3D slider, or play it on a 2DS instead. There are exceptions though, mostly later in the game. There is an open multi-leveled fortress that must be explored in which seeing how far away paths and platforms of lower levels are really helps out in solving the puzzles and navigating the mazes of the structure. The most noticeable moment however is while descending through the lava filled caverns of Death Mountain. There is an extended section of carefully timed jumps from moving platforms onto other moving platforms far below. The added benefit of depth perception on these wild leaps can't be understated!

In my opinion, The Legend of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds is the greatest original 3DS game I've played so far. On a platform littered with re-release ports and mobile inspired casual titles, having a lengthy epic adventure that takes itself seriously is a welcome change. I've always found it odd that games for mobile platforms which can be played anywhere at any time tend to be short and repetitive, while the sprawling time consuming experiences are generally linked to the platforms I have the least amount of time to play. This game provides the portable adventure many of us crave, and if you've been looking for something like that, this is one not to miss!

Flow Free (Big Duck Games/Noodlecake Studios, 2012)

Games come in all sorts of shapes, sizes, and styles to appeal to a wide range of gamers, many of whom don't even consider themselves gamers. If Mom's playing Candy Crush on her iPhone while Junior blasts through Call of Duty on his XBox as Grandmom works out Sunday's crossword puzzle on an iPad, they are all gamers. From Solitaire to Cut the Rope, one of the fastest growing genres is mobile puzzle games. The simple to approach interfaces and short session times make them ideal for a quick distraction to idle away your hours on the go. One such game that's been taking up a lot of my time lately is Flow Free.

The basic idea of Flow Free is that you're presented with a black grid containing multiple colored dots, two dots of each color. You need to connect dots of the same color by dragging a path between them, and end up with every pair of dots connected in a way that fills every piece of the grid. It's a simple premise, and the challenge level scales well from simple to total brain stumper.

Puzzles in Flow Free are arranged based on grid size. From the main menu, you can select any size grid without having to have completed the previous sizes, allowing you to jump right into whatever level of challenge you are in the mood for. This approach makes the game more accessible to casual players, and allows the easier earlier levels to be skipped if they don't provide enough difficulty, but on the other hand, you do lose out on any sense of progression you might get otherwise.

Lacking a progression map may seem like it would make the game less addictive, but if it does, I didn't notice. This is one of those "Just one more level" games that is difficult to put down. It loads fast and remembers where you left off, so it's a quick go-to when waiting in line, waiting for a download, waiting for a text reply, or just plain waiting. I found myself going through the lists on my phone until I'd completed every puzzle, even the larger ones intended for tablets, with a careful hand they are playable on a decent size phone screen, iPhone 5 users may have trouble with them though.

As the grids get larger, the number of dots increase, and with them, the number of colors used. This is where an unavoidable problem arises, there just aren't really that many different looking colors. Sure it's easy to tell the red dot from the green dot, but when you finally snake a path from the blue dot across the screen only to find that the other blue dot is slightly darker and therefor a different color, it gets frustrating. Sometimes it seemed like they stuck with slight brightness variations of the different colors too much when altering the saturation as well might have made them stand out more, but with a careful eye, all of the puzzles are still playable.

Another issue was with the puzzle designs themselves. Some of them were clever intricate bits of brilliance with only a single possible solution that must be deduced from the clues provided. Others were more sloppy messes with large empty spaces that just need to be filled in by whichever color you're connecting last. It's as if the designer was more inspired some days and just phoning it in others, or else there were more than one designer, and some were just better than the rest. The way they are mixed together gives the game an inconsistent feel rather than a progressive ramp up, possibly another reason why they opened access to all of the puzzles from the start.

While it's far from a perfect game, Flow Free still managed to capture my attention for more hours than I would have thought. Some of the more difficult puzzles had me stumped for days at a time, and one particular puzzle took me weeks to figure out. If you've been keeping an eye open for a simple free mobile game to kill time with, then Flow Free may be exactly what you need.

Bastion (Supergiant Games/WarnerBros. Interactive Entertainment, 2011/2012)

I talked a lot about clones in my Ittle Dew review, and about how most games released these days are slight variations on existing ideas. The recent renaissance in indie games by smaller groups or even individuals has lead to some pretty radical new gaming concepts, but sometimes games come along that manage to give us something we're already familiar with, but in a new way that makes it feel like something fresh and unique. This is the case with Bastion.

If you had to categorize Bastion, it would be an Action RPG with Hack n' Slash combat, but that immediately brings up images of Legend of Zelda mixed with God of War as seen in the Darksiders series, and really Bastion is not at all like those games. It has a laid back patient pace to it, and a strong charm that while not exactly whimsical, is definitely leaning in that direction.

Much of this charm comes from the ongoing narration. Ever since Joe Montana II: Sports Talk football for the Sega Genesis/Mega Drive, sports game fans have seen, or heard rather, the evolution of real time play-by-play commentary, and while it's nothing new in the world of digital ball tossing, it's something rarely featured in adventure games. Bastion utilizes this technology to tell you a story in past tense about not just the main objectives and plot points, but what you are doing moment to moment, and how well you are handling various situations. It's a surreal experience that pushes the art of interactive storytelling into new territory. Hopefully it becomes a trend and we can see how far it can go.

I mentioned the Hack n' Slash roots of the gameplay, and as would be expected, Bastion has a very active combat system. What I found unique was how large of a variety of weapons the game offered the player, and how different the gameplay felt with each weapon. It's not uncommon for action games to have fully fleshed out projectile vs melee combat systems, but the differences between using a sword vs spear vs hammer, or a shotgun vs bow and arrow vs machine gun felt almost like playing different games.

You are able to carry any two weapons at a time, and since they map to different buttons on the controller, switching between them seamlessly becomes a large part of the experience. Optional training areas for each weapon are available as side missions allowing you to learn the pros and cons of each without the need for standard tutorials, and really help in trying to find the combination that best matches your preferred play style.

Try not to get too comfortable with any one play style though. As you progress through the many environments and enemy types Bastion has to offer, you'll be changing up your equipment of choice to best suit whatever challenge you find yourself up against. What works great against swarms won't get you far in a boss fights, and the best way to take down larger enemies won't work well when attracted by quicker moving airborne foes. Some areas require a more focused style of play, while others demand flexibility.

Throughout Bastion, resources are collected that can be used to upgrade your character, or your weapons, allowing the ability to further customize your playing experience by making your weapons stronger or faster, or increasing it's range or ammunition capacity. The ability to perform these upgrades isn't available right away however, first you must upgrade your main base of operations, the Bastion itself.

Bastion takes place right after a horrible accident destroys the world. You play as The Kid, as you try to reassemble some of the pieces to build a small bit of habitable land floating in the vast nothingness, all the while befriending fellow survivors and unlocking the mystery to discover the cause of the calamity. Each character has their own back story, and their own take on the land's history. The Kid's story gets fleshed out the most, and there are some touching moments as he discovers the fate of his lost loved ones. This is where the narrator really helps, allowing the emotions to surface in more of a literary way, rather than a typical cinematic approach.

Visually, Bastion also manages to stand out from other games. The 2D isometric artwork presents a detailed world that flows into place from the empty vastness beneath as The Kid nears an edge. Everything has a strong and consistent style to it that packs just the right amount of eye candy into it so it never seems stale, but never gets distracting. This is complimented by the laid back twangy yet atmospheric music reminiscent of some of the lighter soundtrack pieces from the Borderlands series.

Bastion's relaxed pace brand of introspective combat adventuring may not appeal to gamers looking for pure adrenaline fueled twitch combat, and the desolate world devoid of traditional towns and NPCs may feel a bit lonely for rabid RPG fans, but if you've been on the lookout for something that feels just a bit different, Bastion is an experience you won't want to miss out on.