Penny Arcade

We have more or less the same complaint as everyone else regarding Deus Ex: Human Revolution, it’s just that we have this complaint a full week later on account of the PAX chronovortax.

In no uncertain terms, this is exactly the kind of game we want, something like ninety percent of the time.  That’s better than most, I would say.  But the points at which it diverges feel incredibly antithetical.  We arrived at the point we discussed in panel one only to learn that there was an entirely other game included with our purchase, a mid-range shooter, and we had to learn and play this game in order to resume playing the other one we liked so much.  And we did so!  But the incongruities were amplified here because the game reinforces choice so well elsewhere.

The one thing I would say, could say rather, without piercing the umbral curtain of the Spoilitheon, is that the Typhoon Explosive System solves problems.  Especially if your problems are sheathed in weak, shreddable flesh.

It happens every year; I emerge from the show to realize that we’re ass-deep in the Holiday season, and the games we have so frequently fantasized about are riding toward us with all haste, their dust on the horizon.

I was shocked to learn that Gears Of War 3, penned by our good friend Karen Traviss, hits on the 20th.  Dedicated servers solved damn near every problem I had with the multiplayer, which is good and bad I suppose.  It’s good because it has the power to banish the Magical Teleporting Chainsaw.  It’s bad because there’s a lot of shit en route, and I may not have the strength of mind or body to tug out its barbed stinger.

Disgaea?  Check.  Gunstringer, which is way better than it should be?  Also.  Resistance 3?  Imminent.  Dead Island?  Present.  That’s all in the next two weeks, give or take, and it’s not even comprehensive.  In my mind, there is a robot waving its arms, flashing, and warning me of danger.

(CW)TB out.

drink away a few months

I was sent a review code for Crimson Alliance yesterday and I spent the evening checking it out. This was actually the second time I played the game. The first time I saw it was down at Comic Con back in July. At the time I had never heard of the game and I walked away thoroughly impressed.

If you haven’t seen Crimson Alliance yet, it is a dungeon crawl that has you killing guys and picking up gold. It’s hard not to compare the game to Torchlight but it’s actually trying to do something different. Crimson Alliance ditches most of the “RPG” mechanics in favor of fast action. For example the mage class has no mana at all. They don’t want you to worry about having enough juice to cast a spell. You just run through the level casting fireballs and blinking around like a maniac.

Loot is handled in a similar way. You will occasionally find a big treasure chest with a picture of your class on it. Inside will be a hot new piece of loot just for you. Again I think the idea is to spend less time fiddling with gear and worrying about stats.

In addition, it’s got multi-player on the same box (Thank You!) as well as via Live. It may not have the depth of a game like Torchlight, but what it lacks in complexity it makes up for in raw fun. When it drops next week, I think you should give it a try.

-Gabe out