DreamHack 2018: Waveform Wipeout Brings Fun And Nostalgia
With DreamHack being this weekend, the Indie Playground was occupied with an handful of games I feel would stick out for people to look into before they reach online store. This time it’s Charcoal City Games’ digitalized rider Waveform Wipeout. Said as “Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater meets Guitar Hero”, the cyberpunk skating title has you ride along an entity called ‘the wave’ and you must hit certain buttons to queue tricks in a rhythmic pattern. In the near future, a totalitarian government rules to ban all creative freedoms like art, music, and writing. Until the unknown form “wave” appears, it influenced all types of artists to rebel against the overpowered regime. A group emerged called ‘the riders’ who understood the new entity and by learning to ride the new influencing force, they would use it to their advantage to overthrow the controlling government. That’s where the story of the plot kicks off, with over an handful of missions that will come with the base game you will ride ‘the wave’ to bring an end to this authoritarian control. For a mechanic like this to be the game’s primary focus on, it interested me how long it took to perfect the formula. Speaking with studio co-founder Drew Nicolo after demoing the game, he said the game originally started as an project for Global Game Jam in 2017. After making the prototype, Nicolo said he felt the need to continue the project which influenced bringing the full game to reality. After about a year on the game, he was able to work on the game’s main wave riding mechanic to be what is seen in the demo. How exactly the wave works when riding it is based on the music that plays in the background. With different tones and pitches determines if the wave will rise or fall. On top of the in-game music, you will also be able to use any music from your library and by linking a YouTube video before loading the level. As there’s a limitless amount of music to choose from, the game will hold 8 songs that will be unique to each level in the game’s campaign. Nicolo during the game’s development launched a kickstarter for the game which lasted 30 days during August in 2017. He then put all funds from that towards the licensing for the game’s soundtrack. While in the discussion of music, I asked Nicolo which songs he think works best when playing the upcoming title: recommending Code Monkey by Jonathan Coultan & Long Live The New Fresh by Danimal Cannon. Stating that the second recommendation is a direct influence for the game’s overall aesthetic. Following the end of my demo, I saw my score fell way below some of the ones others have made towards winning a key for the game. Though I played poorly for my first attempt, the gameplay was easy to grab and enough to keep me playing right when I started. From the rhythm-based queues to diversity in wave patterns, this is one title keeping in mind when it comes available. Waveform Wipeout is currently set to arrive on Steam’s early access for this Fall.
Killer7 Made Available On Steam Out Of Nowhere
Cult Classic title Killer7 was revealed to be rerelased by developer Suda51 for Steam at some point in the near future. With an concrete time frame for this Fall, the latest we can expect to see the title is in early December before we enter winter. Recently fans have discovered that the 2005 title has suddenly appeared on Steam’s website. This version of the original PlayStation 2 & GameCube title is an reworked title with better visuals. Along with the base game, there is a bundle labeled Killer7: Digital Limited Edition which includes the game along with an digital artbook and the remastered soundtrack. For those interested in getting the game, you can pick it up here.
Black Friday Deals for Xbox is on now
Greetings gamers, it’s that time of the year again. If you haven’t had the chance to play some of your favorite Xbox games (past or present) due to financial reasons, now you have the chance to purchase some of the best games Microsoft has to offer. This time, you don’t need a Gold account for this (although having it would make the discount higher). Just go on the website (click here), purchase whatever game you’d like available, download it, and vioala, it’s yours forever, relatively cheap. Here are some of the many games Microsoft is offering at a discount (non-Gold) this week for the Xbox: Assassin’s Creed: Odyssey ($44.99) Batman: Return to Arkham ($6.60) Borderlands: The Handsome Collection ($24.00) Cuphead ($15.99) Deus Ex: Mankind Divided – Digital Deluxe Edition ($11.25) Dragon Age: Inquisition GOTY ($16.00) Fallout 4: GOTY ($30.00) Injustice 2: Legendary Edition ($24.00) Killer Instinct: Definitive Edition ($13.20) Marvel Vs. Capcom: Infinite – Deluxue Edition ($23.99) Mortal Kombat XL ($6.60) Rise of the Tomb Raider: 20 Year Celebration ($18.00) South Park: The Fractured But Whole – Gold Edition ($29.70) …. and many more!
Jackbox Party Pack 5 Review
Jackbox’s penchant for witty, fun, hilarious experiences continues with their fifth party pack. This games within live up to their predecessors while covering new ground and polishing details that were hindrances in previous installments. As far as party games go, Jackbox Party Pack 5 rests among its brethren as the best of the best. The biggest difference between Jackbox’s fifth outing and previous collections is the level of concentration required to learn the ropes. The games here are as fun as ever, but the learning curve reaches a new high. The payoff, however, is that the games are immensely enjoyable with a group of experienced partiers. Take the time to let these titles steep, and you’re in for a gut-busting whirlwind. Each game has specific rules and nuances, so I’ll touch on each individually. The score at the end is indicative of my rating of these games as a collection. You Don’t Know Jack: Full Stream There’s no way around this: You Don’t Know Jack plays like a dream and is an absolute blast. Melding high stakes trivia with quick thinking and a downright hilarious fake content feed, it’s the pinnacle of trivia games. Compared to Jackbox’s Trivia Murder Party, it holds its own with a more straightforward theme and unique insular jokes. The only downside is the inevitable knowledge gaps between players. If one player has an encyclopedic mind, it’s rarely a contest. Still, Jackbox does a bang-up job of evening the playing field in various ways. The “screw” mechanic goes a long way in putting players on even ground, making it harder for leading participants to answer their questions. The need for speed is also prevalent, somewhat negating the ability of people who know answers but aren’t quick on the draw. Split the Room Split the Room puts a unique twist on the Quiplash format by feeding players situations with a blank word or phrase. Players fill in the blank, and others answer “yes” or “no” to the scenario at hand. Splitting the room, or earning votes on either side, gives the answering player more points. In other words, you want people to answer differently when you complete the scenario. This departure from the typical “I hope they ONLY vote for me!” format proves refreshing, but it leaves behind some of the wacky antics found in the likes of Fibbage or Quiplash. Mad Verse City By far the best of the litter, Mad Verse City is everything I love about Jackbox. Players simply fill in a blank with a word or phrase, then write an entire line that rhymes with the first one. MC Robots read them in computerized voices, often terribly screwing up the rhythm. Of the five games in the pack, this one made me full-on belly laugh the most. Forcing rhymes brings out the best and the worst of people’s poetic experience, and the entire game just plays like some convoluted robotic comedy bit. Patently Stupid Patently Stupid earns my silver medal. It’s a shining example of creativity and worthwhile departure from the usual Jackbox format. Players submit “problems” with funny fill-in-the-blank answers, then other players “solve” those problems with inventions. The inventions include a drawing, a name, a tagline, and a presentation. The presentation is Patently Stupid’s bread and butter. Sure, the computer will present your invention for you if you wish, but it also allows players to do make their own pitch for the problems at hand. Among my friends, I was the only one to take advantage of this option, and by all accounts (just my own, honestly), I killed it. When you solve a problem like “I want to have people over, but my IBS just gets in the way” with “Bathroom fairies—friends that come to the bathroom WITH you!” hilarity ensues. Zeeple Dome I really wanted to like Zeeple Dome, but it just doesn’t work within the Jackbox format. Players fling on-screen avatars at aliens in a deadly arena. The mechanics work like a slingshot—pull your finger down on the screen and your avatar will fling upwards—but the lag between phone and screen is too much to make this a worthwhile game. Seeing my character miss an alien by an inch without being able to quickly adjust with another flick of my finger proved frustrating to the point of rage quitting. Zeeple Dome would be infinitely better served with a normal controller and near immediate reaction time. The Verdict With a healthy stable of amazing games and just one dud, Jackbox Party Pack 5 iterates on the successes of its predecessors to mostly positive effect. With a few misses but many more big wins in terms of game design and refreshing concepts, this installment is worth the ride and will guarantee laughs.
