FIRST LOOK: No Man's Sky

  In video games, as in all media, the world in which the story takes place can make or break an entire concept. The setting and place of a game or story can add emphasis and personality to the actions made by the characters. I doubt that the film TRON: Legacy would have been as interesting if the setting was a beach in San Francisco, or if Fallout had taken place in the arctic tundra!

   Today, we’ll take a look at an upcoming game called No Man’s Sky, an ambitious indie game slated to be released by Hello Games in June of this year . This game will boast multiple worlds and planets for the player to enjoy, with the gameplay mainly focused around exploration. Let’s jump right in and see whether or not this game deserves the amount of hype it has received, and discuss how the game’s world affects the player experience. 

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   I suppose that a more fitting word would be “worlds” plural, for there are a great many to be found in this game. 18,446,744,073,709,551,616 to be exact, or roughly 18 quadrillion. Each planet is not only relatively earth-sized, but each world is fully explorable with new vistas and secrets for the player to discover. The player is an unknown being who begins life on a planet close to the outside of their galaxy, armed only with an object called the “Multitool.” This tool can mine resources and used as a light firearm in case of danger. The player is instructed to mine resources and earn enough money to purchase a ship, allowing the game’s literal galaxy open up a little further for exploration. The more the player explores, the more resources and animals can be found, and the further the player can progress. Since the planets are procedurally generated, or stored in a mathematical form that takes up less space, the game has no loading screens to hamper an otherwise seamless experience. 

With a wide variety of terrain and creatures to explore, No Man's Sky promises to be visually magnificent

   While there is no “endgame” per se, the developers have offered a goal to strive for: If the player can reach the center of the galaxy, a great surprise will be revealed. The player isn’t required to reach the center, however. In fact, the player doesn’t even have to leave their starting planet. The player is entirely in control of how they experience the seemingly infinite universe. One could be an explorer, another a pirate. Another could be a valuable space warrior or a peaceful explorer. The story is up to the player to tell. 

   Perhaps No Man’s Sky is attempting to emulate titles such as Elite: Dangerous, or games that rely on the player to construct the story of the game. Personally, for a game that has no end or beginning, I think that the lack of narrative works well for an infinite open-world style game. Other games that try to balance an open-world style and a rich story fall flat on both, since a tight focus needs to remain on the story for it to work, and a loosening of the reigns needs to take place for the player to really enjoy an open world. 

   However, there are a few quibbles that I have with No Man’s Sky. Due to the lack of a story, there may not be anything left to engage the player after the wonder of the explorable galaxy wears off. Sure, new scenery is nice, but exploration usually takes place once a player has a need to do so, e.i. an end goal. Also, there is a distinct possibility that the planets may start to see similar the more you explore. This issue was relevant when Spore was released, and with a bigger playable universe No Man’s Sky is even more susceptible to this stagnation. 

With a map the size of a literal galaxy, will No Man's Sky be the perfect exploration game, or will it be too big to handle? (Image courtesy of www.gameinformer.com)

   Nonetheless, No Man’s Sky will truly be a marvel of both artistic and mechanical merit. Sean Murray, the CEO of Hello Games, mentions that his love for science fiction storytelling was what originally inspired the game. “You’re living out your sci-fi fantasy,” he says, “And when you tell me your story of what you’ve done in the game it sounds like a legitimate science-fiction story.”

Dinosaurs and red grass? What else could possibly be out there? (Image courtesy of no-mans-sky.com)

   Will No Man’s Sky be the marvel that everyone claims it to be? Or will it be the bust of the century? Discuss below in the comments, or at our Twitter @GamerGweek!

   Written by Spence

Animal Crossing: New Leaf

Animal Crossing (or ACNL for short) is a portable version of the classic Animal Crossing which came out on Gamecube in 2001. Animal Crossing has had a few sequels but none had ever featured a playable human character until this point. Not only this, but in ACNL the player can mold their town as mayor with public works projects.

Animal Crossing is a title that offers many customization options to the player including dress, home furnishings, and the choice to landscape their town as they desire. In ACNL, these options are expanded. There are now pro designs, which means that instead of a copy-paste design offered as clothing, the player can actually customize front and back designs to their outfit. New home styles have been added, including a 7/11 exclusive furnature style and a Monster Hunter style. For landscaping, public work projects are offered, including lighthouses, bridges (brick, fairytale, greystone, wood), and much more. There are around 456 villagers with different personalities to meet and befriend in contrast to the 218 initially introduced.

Animal Crossing also recommends daily interaction to unleash its full potential, so the portable convenience of the 3Ds can be utilized. This is what makes Animal Crossing highly addictive and enjoyable, as each interaction with the game adds up between days. Animal Crossing is a game to leave the player feeling productive and satisfied.

BALDIES: Hair Loss is No Longer an Issue.

First published in 1995 on the PC and then on the Playstation 1, Baldies is definitely something special, Imagine playing civilizations except the player must lead an army of bald guys while the npc governs an army of hairy guys. Probably one of the quirkiest games out there, the player must utilize traps and strategy to defeat the enemy. Build up from tiny houses to castles, learn the mechanics to unleash full gameplay potential. For example, rain brings threatens the player's strength (or energy) required for expanding your army. The player can cannon enemy harries into the depths of the sea, but first the player must have enough energy to do so!



Baldies has many secrets for the player to discover. First, the player needs to throw a skunk or fox into the sea, then grab a fish and throw it into a scientist house. Then they must select the option on the blackboard. The fish rain will recharge based on how many scientists are available to process the request. When engaged, it will rain fish! The baldies will eat the fish they catch and then will eat them. There are all kinds of secrets in Baldies, but the player will have to discover them as there is no online guide or official guide available for assistance.


There are many levels to baldies, and after several levels are worlds. Each world changes how gameplay is done. For example, the last world is a lava world. Each world is filled with secrets and different strategies waiting for you to discover. Not only are there different worlds, but the game contains four different types of baldies. There are workers, builders, soldiers, and scientists. Each baldy is assigned to type to tell the game how the player would like them to behave. The builder for example will build homes.

Baldies is not meant for everyone but for a casual gamer looking for some time to relax, Baldies is a great place to start. A level can take from a few minutes to a few hours and will leave the player feeling engaged. There are many different ways to play and Baldies offers the player a variety of choices.

REVIEW: Crashlands

   Let’s get straight into it, since I have quite a bit to say. First off, let’s have a chat about derision. When something is derivative, it is blatantly stealing or copying a design from an already existing object. This practice, as one can deduce, is harmful to creativity since it fails to introduce new ideas to the medium or genre, therefore stagnating the medium. 

   Frustratingly, this can easily be describing Crashlands, a game recently released for PC and mobile systems. I apologize if I sound a little displeased with this game right off the bat, but I’m afraid that this feeling only continued as I tried to play. The story, for one, is a little anemic. You are an intergalactic deliveryman who is attacked by a monster and crashes on a planet. Scavenging for supplies is soon revealed to be a major mechanic, along with crafting and other survival elements. When these are introduced, it soon becomes apparent what this game really is: A Sci-Fi Don’t Starve clone. 

A quick glimpse of combat within the game. Unfortunately, the game's interface doesn't allow for the quick execution the game requires of the player. (Image courtesy of the Google Play Store)

   Sure, the aesthetic and storyline are different, but only in the sense that they’re somehow more bland than the game they're trying to ape. Don’t Starve at least had a delightfully grim art style, with thick scratchy lines and simplistic features. Crashlands has brighter and more cheerful graphics, but in a very by-the-books generically “cute” fashion. The combat is genuinely fiddly, especially when your character has little health and even less armor, and the different “attacks” are awkward to deploy at the quick pace the game demands. The menu is somewhat unintuitive, with slow loading times and a cluttered interface that conveys a lot of information in a very scrambled manner, making it a genuine pain to use.

   With all of these issues, it became harder and harder to find the will to continue playing the game, and the core gameplay certainly wasn’t helping. Scavenging and crafting works well if implemented properly, as seen in games like Minecraft. You wanted to build a strong house in case the zombies come knocking, and the need to eat necessitated farming and hunting for survival. Crashlands fails on both of these fronts by offering these options without giving us a reason to use them. Sure, you could build a house, but what would the point be? You'll only be leaving to scavenge and quest anyway, so you'll be away more than you'll be here. You can hold all they want in their roomy pockets as well, meaning you don’t even have to go back to unload your inventory. Sure, you could cultivate healing items, but you'll be able to find these items wherever you go, and in greater quantities as well. 

Though you can build as big of a house as you like, it still begs the question: Why would you set up a base of operations if the game requires you to be continually on the move? (Image courtesy of the Apple App Store)

   On the whole, I’m afraid that I can’t recommend Crashlands. With the unintuitive interface, generic and somewhat irritating graphics, and mechanics still bloody from when they were ripped off of other, better games, Crashlands is something that genuinely has no reason to exist. Even a game like Thomas Was Alone, with dull graphics and non-challenging gameplay, had some wit and a good story to redeem it. Crashlands just feels like a Free-To-Play game that excludes the micro payments to make room for token, niche-appeal gameplay elements. While I try to remain optimistic, I’m afraid Crashlands would have to do more than build a house for me to be favorable in my sight. 

   Want to defend or discuss Crashlands? Write a comment down below or on our Twitter, @GamerGweek!

   Written by Spence

Frustrations

Hello to all the gamers and readers out there.  This weekend was so much fun playing on my phone and all the romantic stories.  One of the things that I have found difficult about these games is that you have to log in everyday in order to get rewards such as "money" or "gifts" that one would need to go through the game.  If you do not log in, you have to start over from "Day 1", even though you get to keep the rewards from earlier.  I discovered that it is a good idea to make time for you and your "guys" such as in the morining or at night, even if you dont have time to play it is always good to log in to recieve "gifts".  I personally log in at night or in the morning because that is my time and I don't have to worry about interuptions such as pestering siblings or persons of no personal boundaries.  Another thing that is frustrating about the games is when you have to meet a checkpoint.  A checkpoint, for those of you who don't know, is a barrier where you must have a certian amount of "money" or "style" for your avatar in order to continue with the story.  This can be even more frustrating when you don't save your money or do activities to build up your "style" or "charm", such as in Fairy Tales you can work on your cooking or flying.  I encourage the gamers out there playing to keep at it because the stories you get out of playing are worth your patience and frustration. 

Love Bug

Hello people of the internet and Happy (almost) Valentines Day!! For those of you about to grab your bae and celebrate I am going to celebrate with my baes from all the new dating sims I've downloaded spending time in the stories.  Some like Love Tale give you Holiday log in bonuses every day.  Ok so far Fairy Tails has been by choice game this month because who doesn't want a prince to come and sweep you off your feet on Valentines Day?  As I said in my last post I chose Seanwhite and went on about how he was a womanizer, well its not just ladies of the human species... its the entire female gender that is attracted to him; birds, mammals, reptiles, women, dwarves (there are two), and other female counterparts that exist in this digital world I'm living in with him.  Its fun to see how you, the main character, thinks and how you/she responds to him as you are indifferent to his charms, and its cute how his face changes when he doesn't understand why you don't understand that being with him really is all that he wants from you to be happy.  Its funny how they don't have voice actors or fluid motions that you would get in some games but reading and taking your time to look at him and notice the little changes that happen in his face is fascinating.  In a sense you are making this world your own and more personal especially when you start making your choice s with these characters and I have learned that the more choices that you make to make you "love" stronger the more opportunities you get to make choices.  I personally get butterflies when I get to make a choice of my own and pick what I want to do or say to him/them because it almost feels like a real person getting the heart string orchestra to play and want more.  I love this game and cant wait to curl up with a full battery and big box of chocolate and just relax.  Happy Valentines Day!!

MOBILE DOUBLE BILL: A Review of Westport Independent & The Room 3

   In my previous article, we discussed the diversity and impact that is found in mobile games. These portable delights range greatly between Triple-A shooter games to interactive text adventures, with more ideas coming every year. Today I’d like to review two different mobile games that I played last week, namely Westport Independent and The Room 3. 

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   First up, Westport Independent, or as I’ve come to call it, “Censorship Simulator.” This game relates the story of a 1940s newspaper publisher that is under the power of the totalitarian government. The government trusts the editor in chief (the player) to censor articles that might spark rebellion and promote wholesome messages. It is up to the player to promote the governors or the rebels before the Government seizes total control of the paper within 12 weeks. 

Putting together the paper was rather tricky, since the position of the articles changed what demographic was reached.

   The game was developed by Lucas Pope, the creator of Papers, Please, which explains the look and feel of the game. The graphics are terribly bleak and pixilated, portraying paperwork being filed and sent with an emphasis on story and choice. Although, after playing the game twice through, I’m afraid Mr. Pope failed to bring his A-game this time. For one, the game is disappointingly short; reading all the text and responding to situations carefully granted only an hour of play. The game also feels terribly redundant, relying on the player to make the game more interesting by chopping articles to bits and putting them back together. 

   However, I think the harshest blow to the game was a lack of stakes. In Papers, Please the player knew that accuracy and speed meant life or death for your family. Moral choices had impact, since you could choose to follow the rules or let exceptions occur. In Westport, however, there is no payoff for your actions except a two-minute text scroll that lists what happened after the paper was seized. Sure, you can choose to incite rebellion, but you never have to deal with the consequences, so all impact is lost. Articles are manipulated, but the effects that come because of it are arbitrary at best. 

The censorship mechanics at work

   With repetitive mechanics, a glitchy interface and bleak graphics, the game was only made more annoying by its $5 price tag. I’m afraid I can’t recommend Westport Independent unless they added 200% more fun in the next patch and refunded my time and money from the last playthrough. 

   Moving on to The Room 3, the newest and final installment of the Room series. These games are most famous for their mind bending puzzles and stunning graphics, all of which are back and better than ever. While the game could get by without a story, with each new room comes new exposition about a scientist that has discovered a way to bring the back the dead. The player must solve riddles and puzzles to progress, each one uncovering shreds of the scientist’s former life and experiments. Each of the puzzles usually fall under one of two categories: finding the right pieces to fit into a mechanism, or deciphering riddles and codes to get another piece. Helpful hints are given to the player upon request to ensure a successful playthrough, making the puzzles a greater joy to encounter. 

Each building on the table above housed a secret, but only to those clever enough to unlock their true potential.

With thirty massive levels, the game rounds out a nice length but doesn’t overstay its welcome. The push-pull-press interface is intuitive and is easy to pick up on for new players. The graphics are incredibly pretty, if a little murky at times, though it emphasizes the dark underlying tone of the story. The Room 3 is a game that one simply must play, if only to feel the rush of satisfaction as you watch a complex mechanism fall into place and reveal a new secret. 

Just another piece to a grand design... what secret does it hide?

   While it does cost the same as Westport, I’d rather pay $5 for The Room’s meaty challenge than Westport’s insubstantial pastry. Games are meant to offer a challenge with solid payoff at the end, and I’m pleased to say that whatever disappointment I felt from Censorship Simulator was abated by Glorious Puzzle Extravaganza. Take a look for yourself, and I’m sure that you’ll come to agree with me. 

   Want to discuss or defend Westport Independent? Leave a comment here or at our Twitter, @GamerGweek!

   Written by Spence