The Soapbox: Vote With Your Wallet, Not With Tweets
How often have you been in a game where a player with hundreds of hours in does nothing but complain about how awful said game is? How irritating is it when you see a group of people on social media trashing a company for 'ruining a game' only to buy said game when it releases, or worse, preorder? What is it about gamers that makes us work against our own interests? Is it because we're insatiable or habitual collectors? Do we hope it will be better than we expect? Is it because we value money differently when it comes to games? Whatever it is, it's time to put up or shut up. Use the one weapon we have to make our voices heard because we're being taken advantage of, and we're letting it happen.
Read more: The Soapbox: Vote With Your Wallet, Not With Tweets
Feature: Playing on a Budget
PC gaming can be an expensive hobby, especially when it comes to hardware. Not every gamer can afford to build their own computer, especially when they're stuck with the most basic multipurpose setups around. Luckily, there's several steps that can be taken to play video games on low-end hardware. Whether it's using low framerate configuration edits, comparing system specifications before purchasing, or simply buying well optimized games, low-end gaming can be a manageable experience for players on a budget.
Review: Firewatch
Neutral: Firewatch really isn't a bad story. Despite the issues I've noted with writing and design it has moments of interesting dialogue and plot with great art design, and I was entertained for most of it. The voice acting is some of the best I've come across. I liked the detail put into the little things in the world, and the stylized nature of the art and imagery. All that said, I'm not really into the visual novel genre, it's just not my cup of tea. I wouldn't say it's bad enough to get a 'not recommended'. I can't recommend it, however, due to the price point. $20 for 2.5 to 3 hours of story just isn't a value to me for something like this. I'd recommend it, for people who enjoy visual novels, if it were cheaper, but I have to land it squarely in the neutral rating because of the price, and the ending especially.
News: Squadron 42 Split from Star Citizen Base Game
An apparently planned change to the Star Citizen project is underway, as developers Cloud Imperium have split Squadron 42, the single-player element, from the Star Citizen base game. While this won't effect past backers, anyone buying into the game after the 14th of February will have to purchase Squadron 42, the single-player portion, separate from the persistent universe release of the game. Prices are set to act like expansions, or DLC, with one large purchase price for one portion, and smaller price points for the other add-ons which is relatively similar to the structure of other AAA games. Backers who have already purchased at least the initial game will have both releases in their account already, which is in line with the developer's statement that they wanted early backers to get the game cheaper as prices go up when they get closer to release and the full retail price of the game.
Read more: News: Squadron 42 Split from Star Citizen Base Game
The Soapbox: The Adverse Alluction of the Auteur
"Gaming needs to grow up" is a common byline of many an agenda-driven ideologue in the industry, but they're not wrong; it needs to. We aren't going to do that in an age of developers or critics held above others, however, and we seem to have fallen into a rut by doing so. We need to empower the disruptive, the scandalous, and push the boundaries, not simply hold up those whom validate us.
From The Hip: Exploding Kittens
Recommended: Exploding Kittens is fun, irreverent, and with the NSFW expansion downright dirty. It's a great party game for friends, but with the base game can also be fun for families. It's extremely easy to learn, and gameplay is quick. Strategy becomes a factor as you learn to play, and how best to position the exploding kittens in the deck and use cards to force others to draw. I would play this game again without a doubt. If you're into card games, party games, or just want something different to play this game might just be for you.
Review: The State of Play
Not Recommended: The State of Play stumbles for the same reason it proves popular: #GamerGate. Sure, editors Daniel Goldberg and Linus Larsson have rallied the movement's biggest critics together under one roof, in an attempt to pull apart the hashtag once and for all. But, with regurgitated arguments found throughout the opening half of the collection, The State of Play's #GamerGate criticism is sloppy and uninspired. Granted, the second half of the work does provide strong writing on such topics as level design, violence in video games, religion in JRPGs, and sexuality in game design. But The State of Play never recovers from its awkward, rambling start - and it's hard to recommend the anthology for that very same reason.
Review: Shadowrun - Hong Kong
Neutral: The many gameplay improvements do little to distract from the numerous bugs and stodgy story with little opportunity for role-playing in Shadowrun: Hong Kong. It is a game that feels woefully unpolished for what it is, with long writing sections full of typos, persistent interface bugs and design flaws, and character writing that feels like it only got half done prior to release. There's some moments of writing that shine as strong as Dragonfall, but this very much feels "phoned-in" in comparison, and the interesting character moments are vastly outnumbered by the dull, as the game absolutely loves burying you in over-long and poorly-written exposition - most of which is linear as all hell with no chance to create your own character or approach the missions in more than one way. There's fun to be had here, perhaps, if the linearity doesn't bother you, but this is a game where you are the secondary character to everything else, so don't expect the gratification of being the central character. One for the sale pile, unless you are a big fan of the franchise, and even then I'd have difficulty recommending it even on it's modest full price.
