Knickers and Automatons
Most of my news for fun PC games comes from The Independant Gaming Source, Jay is Games and GameSetWatch. Here's a couple of gems that caught my eye recently:
Jojo's Fashion Show - I don't know who Jojo is, but apparently I know a little bit about fashion. No other game makes me feel like a homosexual more than this one. The basic gameplay is setting up three pieces of clothing for models that have to fit certain "styles" in a limited time before they go on-stage and you get scored by how well those clothes fit the style listed. There are bonuses for sending out the same style multiple times in a row and for throwing together "Signature Styles" which is basically a pre-set group of clothing on a single model. It's pretty fun.
There are powerups that let you see what sort of types a certain piece of clothing is, and if those types fit in the style, you get points. Plus, there are bonuses for "Fashion Do's", like matching patterns with solids, boots with knee-high skirts, and matching cowboy boots with anything that has frills. The demo only allows an hour of play, but it's more than enough to get a person acquainted with the gameplay and see if it's something they'd enjoy. As someone who enjoys playing dress-up, I'm amazed to see that they managed to make a compelling game out of it.
On the website there is a blurb how originally the game was going to be a Diner Dash-style game of managing a boutique, but that it didn't seem like it was interesting enough, especially since the draw of being a fashion designer is actually designing fashions. The game manages to capture what I imagine is the feel of standing in front of a clothing rack frantically trying to get models dressed before they go on stage to show the latest "Fall" or "Winter" fashions. For the most part, common (Fashion) sense seems to work. The only style I had problems with is "Rock-n-Roll," because apparently I don't understand what Rock n' Roll is in the fashion world.
Besides the actual game mode there's also a dress-up mode where you can just put fashions together using clothing you've unlocked in the game, which is definite plus in my book. The game is $20 for the full version, which I think is $5 too much, but I'm still considering a purchase as something to do when there's nothing else to do. Despite the fact that I've always got some game to play or other, it's really more of something to play when I'm ignoring every other game in my collection. Which I do. A lot.
Shut up.
What I like about this casual game over something that should be more appealing, like Puzzle Quest, is that there is no head to head struggle with the computer (at least that I found in my hour of play) and so there is no part where the computer gets lucky, and then looks like it's cheating. If it's one thing I've learned, it's that no matter how random the AI actually is, if bonuses come by random chance and the computer gets them often enough, the user will think the computer is cheating. It doesn't matter how many times the engineer that programmed the thing tells people it's random, if the end user thinks it's cheating, it might as well be.
Steamband - As far as roguelikes go, I tend to be pretty picky. ADOM pretty much ensured that I would never enjoy Nethack, Angband or any of their multiple clones. Dwarf Fortress only served to reinforce that. Basically, for me to enjoy a roguelike any more it has to be pretty stellar, or bring something completely new to the table. GearHead brings a lot of interesting concepts to the table, but maybe tries to do too much and everything feels like broth rather than a hearty stew. On the other side, Stone Soup doesn't really do anything new, but still manages to be both fun and interesting.
With that wordy preface out of the way, Steamband is an Angband variant, which is points against it right there, but I tried it out anyway because the review claimed it was changed so much that "it is best to think of it as a total conversion." Steamband pretty much does away with everything that makes playing Angband and Nethack so frustrating and keeps everything in the game rooted to the setting. A setting which isn't a generic fantasy setting. Yay! Actually, booting up the game for the first time I was shocked when my race selection included things like "American," "British," "French," "African," and "Asiatic" among others like "Automaton," and "Unseelie Fae."
Another cool aspect. In the town to start there is a gun store, with guns, and bullets. Oh yeah, and there's magic in the game like in other roguelikes. Unlike other roguelikes however magic is more in the... Call of Cthulu genre where using magic can result in paying a high cost. Luckily there are crazy devices to fill your need for magical-style equipment. I definitely need more time to plumb the depths of this awesome adventure, and really, that's what I want in a roguelike. The feeling of wanting to play more in order to experience new things. It's what I look for in MMOs, too, I guess. Sorta.
Anyone wanna play some DDO or FFXI?
My first game ended poorly when after I was killed by what can only be described as a faulty light socket dispensing scalding steam and confusion inducing jolts of electricity. YASD? I think so!
Jojo's Fashion Show - I don't know who Jojo is, but apparently I know a little bit about fashion. No other game makes me feel like a homosexual more than this one. The basic gameplay is setting up three pieces of clothing for models that have to fit certain "styles" in a limited time before they go on-stage and you get scored by how well those clothes fit the style listed. There are bonuses for sending out the same style multiple times in a row and for throwing together "Signature Styles" which is basically a pre-set group of clothing on a single model. It's pretty fun.
There are powerups that let you see what sort of types a certain piece of clothing is, and if those types fit in the style, you get points. Plus, there are bonuses for "Fashion Do's", like matching patterns with solids, boots with knee-high skirts, and matching cowboy boots with anything that has frills. The demo only allows an hour of play, but it's more than enough to get a person acquainted with the gameplay and see if it's something they'd enjoy. As someone who enjoys playing dress-up, I'm amazed to see that they managed to make a compelling game out of it.
On the website there is a blurb how originally the game was going to be a Diner Dash-style game of managing a boutique, but that it didn't seem like it was interesting enough, especially since the draw of being a fashion designer is actually designing fashions. The game manages to capture what I imagine is the feel of standing in front of a clothing rack frantically trying to get models dressed before they go on stage to show the latest "Fall" or "Winter" fashions. For the most part, common (Fashion) sense seems to work. The only style I had problems with is "Rock-n-Roll," because apparently I don't understand what Rock n' Roll is in the fashion world.
Besides the actual game mode there's also a dress-up mode where you can just put fashions together using clothing you've unlocked in the game, which is definite plus in my book. The game is $20 for the full version, which I think is $5 too much, but I'm still considering a purchase as something to do when there's nothing else to do. Despite the fact that I've always got some game to play or other, it's really more of something to play when I'm ignoring every other game in my collection. Which I do. A lot.
Shut up.
What I like about this casual game over something that should be more appealing, like Puzzle Quest, is that there is no head to head struggle with the computer (at least that I found in my hour of play) and so there is no part where the computer gets lucky, and then looks like it's cheating. If it's one thing I've learned, it's that no matter how random the AI actually is, if bonuses come by random chance and the computer gets them often enough, the user will think the computer is cheating. It doesn't matter how many times the engineer that programmed the thing tells people it's random, if the end user thinks it's cheating, it might as well be.
Steamband - As far as roguelikes go, I tend to be pretty picky. ADOM pretty much ensured that I would never enjoy Nethack, Angband or any of their multiple clones. Dwarf Fortress only served to reinforce that. Basically, for me to enjoy a roguelike any more it has to be pretty stellar, or bring something completely new to the table. GearHead brings a lot of interesting concepts to the table, but maybe tries to do too much and everything feels like broth rather than a hearty stew. On the other side, Stone Soup doesn't really do anything new, but still manages to be both fun and interesting.
With that wordy preface out of the way, Steamband is an Angband variant, which is points against it right there, but I tried it out anyway because the review claimed it was changed so much that "it is best to think of it as a total conversion." Steamband pretty much does away with everything that makes playing Angband and Nethack so frustrating and keeps everything in the game rooted to the setting. A setting which isn't a generic fantasy setting. Yay! Actually, booting up the game for the first time I was shocked when my race selection included things like "American," "British," "French," "African," and "Asiatic" among others like "Automaton," and "Unseelie Fae."
Another cool aspect. In the town to start there is a gun store, with guns, and bullets. Oh yeah, and there's magic in the game like in other roguelikes. Unlike other roguelikes however magic is more in the... Call of Cthulu genre where using magic can result in paying a high cost. Luckily there are crazy devices to fill your need for magical-style equipment. I definitely need more time to plumb the depths of this awesome adventure, and really, that's what I want in a roguelike. The feeling of wanting to play more in order to experience new things. It's what I look for in MMOs, too, I guess. Sorta.
Anyone wanna play some DDO or FFXI?
My first game ended poorly when after I was killed by what can only be described as a faulty light socket dispensing scalding steam and confusion inducing jolts of electricity. YASD? I think so!