After three-years and fourty-thousand checks of my email, the Starcraft II beta finally arrived. I guess one of the perks of keeping a blog is that you get access to the newest things in video games as they happen, like DoTA remake Heroes of Newerth, as well as exciting developments in the field, like home-made and independent games. But after playing a fair few games of Starcraft II I got to thinking: is this game really “new”; is this game really exciting?

My first impression of SC 2 was, bascially, “wow — this game looks great, this game plays great, this game is great”. And, like culture shock, this elicited a feeling of excitement that this was something familiar (principally similar to Starcraft, common units) but completely different (new mechanics, new units, etc.). But also like culture shock, it wore off, and I was left with the reality of Starcraft II.

Starcraft II, from what I’ve gathered from the multiplayer component of the beta, is a really good game, even post-’culture shock’. The problem: it feels like a really glossy remake of Starcraft; it doesn’t feel like a revolution. As anyone who has been following the developent of the game will know, there are a few changes to the way the game can be played. For example, certain units can leap / scale cliffs and ledges, Zerg roaches can move burrowed. In my short time with the game, I have also noticed the drastic ’rounding’ of the Zerg game since Starcraft (they actually have an early game via roaches!). There is also more filled-out, linear progression from light to heavy units.

For me, some of these features felt like they could have constituted a heavy patching of the original game; the other features, while cool, did not and, in my experience, have not redefined the way the game is played. Low-tier unit rushes are still the same except Terran use a few marauders and Zerg use roaches instead of hydra. Protoss often incorporate stalkers, but can rely on early zealot pushes. Likewise, if playing against someone with even a slightly lower skill level, a fast tech to heavy air units still usually delivers a comprehensive victory.

That being said, there are some drastic improvements in the playability of the game: the ability to select multiple buildings, rally miners to resources, improved pathing,  generally less ‘bugged’ unit AI (I am yet to see computer opponent AI in full force), que upgrades, que rally points / commands, etc.

Yet in spite of all this, I return to my earlier point that Starcraft II just feels like a (very) comprehensive remake of Starcraft II. The improvements on Starcraft don’t constitute a revolution of the game. A revolution would imply a considerable, near-redefining shift in the fundamentals, but this has not taken place. Perhaps it is more helpful to consider Starcraft II in terms of evolution. If we consider the patching Starcraft mutations, then I’d say that Starcraft II constitutes, while drastic, just another mutation.

But so far I have only discussed the gameplay itself. The aesthetics of the game, on the other hand are completely different: the design of Starcraft has seen revolution. Units, buildings, terrain have obviously been intricately designed and benefit greatly from the gorgeous Havok-driven polygons. But such changes are to be expected and constitutes an article unto itself.

As you have probably gathered, I was left with the feeling that Starcraft II was more of a contemporaneous interpretation of the original and not the drastic revolution of RTS I was hoping for. Once the culture shock of the new units and (limited) new mechanics had worn off, I felt like I was playing the same game. This is not to say it is bad. In fact nearly every improvement is a liberating development on its predecessor. Additionally, playing Starcraft II is one of the most joyous and purely fun gaming experiences I’ve ever had. I chalk this down to a) its familiarity and b) the developed aesthetics and gameplay. It’s more than likely that the fundamental similarities between the two games were conscious master-strokes made by its developers. But that doesn’t undermine the fact that Starcraft II is to Starcraft as a human is to a chimp: on the surface there are substantial differences, but many of the same principals underpin both creatures.

In sum, Starcraft II does excite me and it is a greatly evolved version of Starcraft, but it is not a new genus of RTS. These are minor, analytical gripes, however, and hinge largely on my own expectations. All in all, anticipate enjoying the game immensely and being uniformly impressed by the work as a whole.

Star Guard is a Flash-developed platformer developed by Vacuum Flowers, and is available from their website.

This game contains excellent design and animation. It is distinctly retro, and the pixelated graphics are a major shift from the 3D models we are now comfortable with. The developer also makes great use of passages of text to describe the story. We are told that an Evil Wizard and his minions have invaded the Hero’s land in his absence, and it is up to him and his fellow soldiers to thwart the Wizard’s scheme. The small passages serve as a stark contrast to the player blasting his way across levels:
“The Last Assault must succeed, or all is lost.”

The simple yet successful sound effects reminds one of the classic sidescrollers of the CGA era, especially Mega Man 3 and 4, right from the offset.

The controls stay true to the game’s simple formula, using Z to jump, X to shoot, and the direction keys to move, like a true 8-bit platformer.
The plethora of checkpoints and the option of unlimited credits make the game one of those rare options for those easily frustrated, and will easily tend to a casual gamer or novices.

The game’s weakness however was the large difficulty spike at the beginning of level eight. The first seven levels seemed to be a breeze, but level eight and nine were quite tricky, and the final boss fight was seemingly impossible. Perhaps a building degree of difficulty, with the final battle being something that requires a fiendish puzzle to solve is something to for the developer to address. It is a shame that the many great ideas introduced earlier on were undone by the moments where it seems that every step requires a near-kamikaze death. Perhaps this was what the developer intended? It is hard to say.

However, despite its flaws it is refreshing to play a free download that harkens back to the days of arcade games, especially in days where video games are designed with mindblowing graphics and incredible visuals.

Some of will play for 5 minutes, and then return to their XBOXs. Others will revisit to try to beat their high score and have a blast. And they’ll be bloody lucky.

A while back REZ was quite a bloggable game. And it may be a bit old hat to bring it up again, but I stumbled across this fascinatingarticle by Douglas Brown on its recursive interactions between visuals, audibles and references to other art.

“Abstract: Douglas Brown’s Rez: An Evolving Analysis dives into Tetsuya Mizuguchi’s ‘trance shooter’ to reveal how the game’s recursive dynamics – between sight and sound, rhythm and novelty, abstraction and representation – work to construct the player’s spatial and temporal experience.”

That and it opens with a Kandinsky quote. Win.

A great paper. On the denser, more academic side of things.

It seems appropriate that a game satirizing a long-past style of cinema should also attempt to resurrect the now-dead interactive movie genre (arguably last prominent in the late ’90s — if you could call it prominence). The game’s artwork, title pages and the actual moment of interaction are rendered in stylized pixel-art. I think they were trying to emphasize — in a rather confused way — the ‘old-school’ feel of the game in general.

Experiences like The Deepening live or die on the appeal of their stories. Being so short (it takes about 10 minutes to ‘play’), it essentially lacks said story and fills in the gaps with hammy, barely passable comedy (incredibly subjective at the best of times). The Duncan Brothers deliver an intentionally cheesy piece which may or may not be your cup of tea. That being said, it left this reviewer cold.

In short, it isn’t going to start an interactive movie renaissance, but there are worse ways to spend ten minutes. And maybe you will get a kick out of the frat boy appeal of The Deepening. After all, it’s free but not really SFW.

Play it here.

Duncan Brothers.

Chris Fox is an English Computer Games Design student at Staffordshire Uni, dabbling in games commentary and talking too much on the internet. You can find more of his incoherent ramblings at keysakimbo.blogspot.com.