The Rumble Pack Posts

Welcome back to my little hovel of a weekly blog known as the World of Flash. So at the end of last week, I told you I was going to inform you about where to find these flash games in nature. Well, I lied. I know, I’m horrible. I’m a monster. Get over it. I only do this for you. The world of Flash games is a big and scary place, and I’m not ready to let go of you just yet. Instead, this week I’m going to take you on a journey to a small but really intriguing niche of Flash game, perspective-based puzzlers. There are only a handful of games that fill this genre, but what they do is so unique and interesting that I feel they warrant a little more attention. So open your mind and get ready to adapt a whole new point of view.

Coign of Vantage

Well, it takes a while to put a million pieces back together!

Made by two guys named Markus and Philipp based out of Vienna, Coign of Vantage has the player adjusting his or her mouse to line up pixels in such a way that a 2D image is formed. The twist is that the pixels are scattered in 3D space, and the only thing you can control is the camera. Did I mention the time limit? Time begins to count down from thirty seconds as soon as the first pixels appear. However, with each image you complete, you gain more time to complete further images. Still, as the clock winds down, your mouse starts flailing more and more as you try to find just where the hell you need to put the camera. What’s the goal? Points, baby, points! Finish as many as you can to earn the high score and gloat to your friends about your more worldly perspective. Or don’t and just enjoy the game and the soothing piano accompaniment.

Perhaps it’s the string of amazing fall games to have hit consoles recently. Maybe it’s the lofty and often outspoken ambition of recent developers such as Quantum Dream’s David Cage or Lionhead’s Peter Molyneux to raise the bar in terms of thought-provoking, interactive entertainment. Or perhaps it’s a sign that my personal tastes are changing. Any way you look at it, I’m not too excited for Dante’s Inferno.

After playing the PS3 demo last weekend, it’s clear to me that EA has put a fair share of effort into their Q1-release brawler. First unveiled during last year’s VGAs, it’s hard to describe the graphics and play mechanics of DI as anything less than a God of War clone. Make no mistake – I mean that in the most complimentary way possible. It doesn’t hurt that the constant bone-crunching, blood-gushing action is aided by a silky smooth 60 fps. If you squint really hard, you’ll swear that Kratos has leaped his way into another fighting epic to take on as many demons as will quench his blood-lust. However, in a rare stroke of irony, although several games this year have suffered from a great-concept, poor-execution syndrome, EA’s first 2010 effort seems be exhibiting exactly the opposite problem – great execution, awful premise.

Look into my eyes…

Who knew that some VGA trailers could rile up the guys so much? Nearly every “world premiere” from Spike’s big show is dissected, but the batarangs fly when Tony and Nick get to the Arkham Asylum 2 announcement. Is it too soon to return to Gotham? After the scuffle, Tom talks about two high fantasy puzzlers, Gyromancer and Might & Magic: Clash of Heroes. The latter was developed by Capybara, the guys behind the rainbow-vomit-stained Critter Crunch, so you might want to pay attention. Tony also has a few orcs up his sleeve – fantasy kingdom construction in Majesty 2 and freelancing for loot thanks to the new World of Warcraft 3.3 patch. Plus, Kaz is just here for the gasoline in Left 4 Dead 2‘s Scavenge mode, and the guys lavish lava-hot praise upon PixelJunk Shooter.

Relevant Links:

Trailers from Spike’s VGA broadcast

PixelJunk Shooter‘s name does not do the game justice. I’m sure that Q-Games wanted to keep it short and sweet, as they did with Monsters and Eden before it, but this new moniker seemingly lumps the game in with the glut of other dual-stick… scope shooters currently crowding the PSN. Space spelunkers who have already downloaded this treasure know that this label couldn’t be further from the truth.

Of course Shooter takes its time working up to brilliance. The first few stages require players to navigate a ship through tight caverns to rescue stranded scientists. A few waterfalls may provide some pretty scenery and a quick way to cool down your missile launcher, but it isn’t until you discover your first lava-spewing volcano that the game really picks up steam. Suddenly, the impressive fluid physics aren’t just for show, as the lava and water combine to form a soft, destructible crust.

In the first Modern Warfare, there’s a mission in which the player sees through the eyes of a marine operating in an unnamed Middle Eastern country. After some harrowing firefights and a quick airborne escape, both you and he probably assume that the good guys will be able to wipe out the terrorists and save the day. Not quite. Instead, your helicopter nosedives, and your poor marine is suddenly left crawling on the ground as a nuclear weapon is detonated nearby.

*Spoilers ahead! The following review assumes you’ve either completed most of the campaign or don’t care about the storyline.*

Tread lightly this week. According to Kaz, witches are on the prowl in the brutally difficult Left 4 Dead 2. The crew will let you know if you’re ready for the next zombie apocalypse. Kaz also has the mudstained scoop on DiRT 2, a racing game that even Tom can appreciate, while Justin talks about how his new Droid will someday augment his reality. After the games rundown, Nick gives an optimistic assessment of the next EGM, but not everyone is sold. Is there still room on the newstands? And if you’re still dodging Javelins in Modern Warfare 2, you’ll want to hear our debate about online cheating.

Relevant Links:

EGM Now Twitter Feed

WHADDUP BLOGOSPHERE?! Do people even call it that anymore?

After a long silence, here I am. Once again back is the incredible, not-so-rhyme animal, Incredible T. Or perhaps the incredible, inedible Tony. ‘Lo what could stir the Tony so strongly that he found it necessary to write again? The answer, my esteemed friends and colleagues, is Flash games.

I’d like to begin with a discussion of the qualification of a Flash game. A Flash game can be made using Adobe flash, but I really use this as a general term for browser based gaming. There are slight variations between engines used, but the point is that the code is compact enough to be downloaded and then run within the confines of your browser window. A Flash game is typically an independent production from a single person or a small team. However, there are known contradictions to this, in particular the Dragon Age Journeys game put out by EA2D. So as you can see, there has been a large amount of evolution to the Flash game genre. Now take my hand and join me on a trip to visit a couple of the latest and greatest residents of the magical world of Flash.

Canabalt

CHEESE IT!

Ah, here is a game marvelous in its simplicity. Known as an iPhone app from a group called Semi Secret Software, Canabalt really has its roots in the hands of two prolific indie designers; Adam Atomic in charge of the game and its visuals and Dan Baranowsky in charge of the music. As some sort of perfect storm of simplicity, the game is highly addictive. In fact, these guys keep it so simple that your only means of control is a jump key! Originally mapped to the x and c keys, as an iPhone app you find yourself frantically trying to tap the screen (or click for the browser version) to jump over all the obstacles dumped in your path. And what, pray tell, are you running from? Who the hell knows! I just know it must be scary as hell because the more obstacles you miss, the faster your little man books it from the left side of the screen to the right. The game also derives a lot of its atmosphere from the fast retro-esque music and sound design, as well as the carnage ensuing in the background. If you enjoy this fantastic work that was first constructed on the flixel engine, be sure to check out another fav of mine called Gravity Hook.

Who: Everyone, including co-sponsors The Fanboys

When: 9 p.m. EST, December 10th

What: Uncharted 2 Multiplayer

Where: PSN

Why: Because nobody straps on Javelin missiles in the jungle.

RSVP here

Depending on your point of view, Grand Theft Auto IV was either a fully realized recreation of a major a city – the “living, breathing world” cliché that we and many others abused last summer – or a monumental step backward from the absurd freedom of San Andreas. For a long time, I tended to side with the former. Though I missed my jetpacks and Harrier jets, the stronger storytelling, relatively speaking, seemed to be worthy trade. But as I play through The Ballad of Gay Tony, with its explosive shotgun shells and parachuting mayhem, I realized how dull the original IV was, and how much the Eastern Bloc immigrant character deserved a better game. But the GTA that I’d really like to see done over? That would be The Lost and Damned, the unofficial “Sons of Anarchy” episode that almost always misses the mark dramatically.

 

Two fictional biker gangs enter…

I should warn you that this post will contain minor spoilers for FX’s “Sons of Anarchy,” which just wrapped up its second season last week. But somehow, this show about a motorcycle gang starring Hellboy and the British guy from “Undeclared” has become one of my current favorites. Seeing as it’s from Kurt Sutter, one of “The Shield” alumni, I guess I should have had more faith, but I never expected to become so wrapped up in the lives of these bikers. I think the show works so well because the writers know how to use restraint. Nobody expects the same from Rockstar, but the developer could really use this show as a lesson.