Thomas Was Alone and a new breed of reviews

Having already covered the release of Thomas Was Alone over at the IndieGames blog (see? that's where newsbits go these days) I thought I'd take my time and finish the game before reviewing it for my very own, very cozy place. But first a bit of history.

Thomas Was Alone is a game by Mike Bithell and Mike Bithell is one of the first indie game designers I started writing about sometime six years ago. He was still a student back then, but had already come up with more than a few intriguing ideas and was more than capable of creating beautiful games. Games like Reunion if you remember, which I deeply enjoyed and (hint, hint) would love to see evolved.

Then, things and games happened and Mike went on and crafted a particularly successful flash game named Thomas Was Alone which you can no longer play online. It was an utterly lovely game. A refreshing puzzle-platformer that provided you with rectangle characters and a geometric world, in which said characters could climb and bounce on top of each other in order to solve platformer puzzles.

Then, even more things happened (mainly glowing press and, apparently, brave choices) and Mike decided that Thomas Was Alone simply had to realize its full potential and become a full-blown, downloadable and thus logically commercial indie game. Following a modest IndieGoGo campaign the game was released and you can (and frankly should) buy it now for Mac and PC over at its very own and most aptly URLed site. There's even a demo available to help you make the right choice.

History lesson over. Time for a review.

Well, the official description of the game goes a bit like this: a minimalist game about friendship and jumping and floating and bouncing and anti-gravity, which is pretty accurate, but fails to add the words terrific, story-heavy and brilliantly narrated somewhere. A grave marketing mistake surely, as what we are talking about here reader is easily one of the very best platformers ever. A game that has earned its place among classic platformers Manic Miner and VVVVVV; a rare action offering that can proudly sit next to Alphaland (an inspiration perhaps?) and claim it really knows its storytelling.

The plot and its delivery, you see, are central to Thomas Was Alone, which does force me to namedrop a bit more. Remember that Portal game? Good. Now, do the math and find out what I want to say, by keeping in mind that I easily preferred Thomas' take on interactive storytelling.

As for the gameplay itself, things are both straightforward and innovative. You get to control a variety of subtly yet brilliantly animated rectangles, each with its own unique personality, set of abilities, shape and colour, and guide them through an excellently designed set of levels that will mainly tax your brain, but also -a bit- your reflexes. What's really lovely is just how well each rectangle's defining ability is tied to its character; what's downright impressive though is that said rectangles are so much more interesting than your average multi-polygonal mainstream hero. They have a soul and that's coming from a person who simply doesn't believe such things exist.

So, uhm, as I said earlier, buy it will you? Don't make me go on about how lovely the stylized graphics are or how addictive the game can get. I'm very busy these days, you know, and am pretty confident the less I tell you about it, the more fun you'll have discovering the many graces of Thomas Was Alone.

Related @ Gnome's Lair:

• Alphaland: the prequel of a beta
• The VVVVVV review
• Meet Manic Miner
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Call of Cthulhu: The Wasted Land Review

Sometimes the truths of the universe are too shocking for us to accept and some other times cosmic realities simply cannot be understood. Still, I just can't comprehend why Call of Cthulhu: The Wasted Land is the only (and thus first) Lovecraftian, turn-based, tactical game I've ever encountered; let alone one of the few games to use the trenches of WWI as a dark and desperate setting.

On the other hand, ignorance is bliss and creative people get strange dreams courtesy of the Outer Gods, who have been slumbering and waiting for an ambitious take on X-Com that will actually feature Dark Youngs, undead soldiers, mad mages, hints of Reanimator and the spawn of Cthulhu. Happily, said dreams spawned The Wasted Lands, which, as should have already been made blatantly obvious, is a lovely turn-based, tactical affair with a few RPG touches.

You get your characters, your action points, your experience points, your oppressive 3D terrains, your campy but delightful plot, your spells, your otherworldly monstrosities, your cultists and your zombified soldiers in one of the most honest (and cheap) strategy games I've recently played. What you also get is a truly elegant adaptation of Chaosium's Call of Cthulhu rules, the first ever sanity mechanics to actually work in a wargame and a most successful atmosphere. 

On the downside, this is a really short game sporting ten or so missions, that will last you for roughly ten hours, and, irritatingly, a game with a few control problems. Apparently, its iOS roots haven't been ironed out, but trust me when I say that you'll very soon be used to its, uhm, eccentricities. Oh, and you can only grab it over at the universally unknown Intel AppUp online store, meaning that more middleware will have to be installed on your ever-encumbered PC.

Still though, hadn't had this much fun with a turn-based strategy game, since, well, X-Com and that should be all you need to know.

Verdict: Cthulhu would smile and devise new tactics.

Related @ Gnome's Lair:

• Cthulhu Saves The World Review
• The prestigious 2011 AGS Awards
• Future Lovecraft: the book
• Classic Cthulhu entertainment

Rise of the Videogame Zinesters

I hate motivational and/or inspirational books. They are always written by some sort of half-illiterate manager person, are morally dubious and tend to forget (as George Carlin once pointed out) just how motivated Hitler was. Happily, and despite some pretty silly things I've read online, Anna Anthropy's Rise of the Videogame Zinesters is not a motivational book. It's a bleeding manifesto; some sort of a DADA/Bauhaus attempt to strengthen the popular assault on corporate gaming, provide it with the necessary tools for the job and inspire it.

Now and to keep things simple, here's what I have to say: if you ever thought of creating a game, if you ever created one, but even if you have never played a game before yet feel you have things to share with the rest of us, this is a book you simply have to grab.

Rise of the Videogame Zinesters starts off by explaining just what a game is and what it can achieve in order to swiftly focus on games created by individuals; auteur games. Admittedly, this might sound pretentious or even of elitist origins, but, trust me, it's not. Far from it really. What Anna Anthropy wants is for people to express themselves via the creation of games; easily and without the need of assembling teams or raising money. She doesn't attack the other ways of creating them mind (well, she does have a few things to say about the shitty corporate offerings of today). She merely points out that you could and should do it.

Yes, that would indeed be YOU. Probably even me too.

A game after all can be about anything; just like a short story, a poem or a fiery article. It can be personal, political, funny, fun, thought-provoking, wildly innovative, aesthetically important or something its creator simply had to share. What Anna urges us to do with this book is to actually let our creative selves free to, well, create. She even provides with some ideas on the processes, sites and tools that should help us.

What's more, she takes it upon herself to convince us that a game can also be created by anyone: freaks, normals, amateurs, artists, dreamers, dropouts, queers, housewives and probably even those dreaded geeks. Just not fascists; their games are bound to be as grotesque as the insides of their heads, but I digress.

What I wanted to say was that this book is brilliant and very well written indeed. It's most inspiring, deeply personal and filled with helpful tips and ideas and should even come in handy for people professionally creating games. It even reveals some shocking yet not entirely unexpected truths regarding the way game design universities overwork their students in order to prepare them for the notorious crunch big developers will subject them too.

Read it.

Related @ Gnome's Lair:

• Games of Empire - a book review
• Let a Thousand Free Games Bloom
• Dan Marshall Interview
• The Case of the Vanishing Entree

J.U.L.I.A. Review

I am so glad I decided to not provide you with review scores reader dear; so absolutely delighted. Summing up J.U.L.I.A. in a simple score would have been utterly impossible. Even deciding on what I really thought about it turned out to be pretty taxing. Better though to start at the beginning.

J.U.L.I.A. is a science-fiction game, casting you as Rachel Mannors, the sole survivor of a space expedition gone spectacularly wrong. Rachel, an awkwardly 3D modeled yet decently voiced character,  is woken up from cryo-sleep by J.U.L.I.A., the spaceship's AI, only to discover she's all alone in a malfunctioning ship light-years away from Earth and apparently stranded in a solar system with dully named planets. What's more, something has gone spectacularly wrong on said planets. Something that eventually led to the death of the rest of the crew and the endangerment of alien life.

Truth be said, J.U.L.I.A., and that's the last time I bother with these fullstops, has a very interesting, if slightly melodramatic, plot. A proper science fiction story to be precise, that isn't afraid to touch upon important matters and never fails to be atmospheric. What's more, JULIA is one of those very rare games you can't simply describe with a screenshot and a genre categorization. You'll have to go on and play it (its demo at the very least) in order to fully understand its gameplay; you know, just like back in the old days, when reading a review and looking at some pics in a magazine simply left you bewildered...

At its core though the game can be described as a choose-your-own-adventure styled piece of interactive fiction with an interesting graphical GUI and a ton of mini-games thrown in. Needless to say, the text adventure-y parts of the game are by far the best. They are well written, brilliantly supported by the graphics and cut-scenes and -especially towards the end- by a fantastic map system. The problem though is that these section are pretty short and essentially without any challenge to speak of.

Most of the challenge is to be found in the aforementioned mini-games and, sadly, this is where JULIA's main problem lies. The vast majority of mini-games on offer are ridiculously easy and feel largely unconnected to the game's setting and the situations at hand. What's more, the difficult ones are usually both too hard and badly explained, making for a gaming experience that ranges between dull and frustrating.

On the other hand, I am really glad I played JULIA. Despite its shortcomings, it's a very brave, very ambitious and definitely innovative game with a strong focus on telling a story that's actually worth sharing. I do believe it's the first step in the right direction; a diamond in the rough, an impressive new way of approaching interactive fiction and an idea that has to be nurtured and supported, if only to give the devs a chance at perfecting their formula.

Verdict: A flawed but unique gem.

Related @ Gnome's Lair:

• The Cryptozookeeper Interview
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Waveform Review

Waveform, the soothing indie game I previewed some time ago, is an elegant and incredibly simple to play offering that has just been released for the PC (with a little help from Steam), though I'm pretty sure it would make a killing over at them touch-based mobile devices. Now, don't take this wrong reader; I don't consider Waveform simplistic or shallow - far from it. I'm just pretty confident its unique game mechanics would greatly benefit from touch controls.

Anyway. On to the game proper. Waveform has you using the mouse to control the wavelength and amplitude of a light wave that looks and behaves suspiciously close to a sine wave. Moving your mouse cursor right or left will modify the former and up or down the latter, thus hopefully plotting a route that will help your circular avatar thingy avoid obstacles and grab a ton of points. It's this simple really or, as some would wisely point out, a triumph of minimalist design.

Happily, said simplicity doesn't mean that the game is boring. It means instead that this is one traditionally easy to learn yet hard to master offering. Also one that actually affords gradually building up its complexity with a steady introduction of new gameplay elements, new mechanics, new enemies and new ways to treating them, meaning that you will definitely have something fresh to look forward to every few levels. And there's over 100 well designed of them.

Not all is perfect though. Especially as things get more hectic the controls can feel a tad unresponsive. Oh, and despite the variety on offer and even them hidden levels, said things can actually get repetitive, especially when you are frantically trying to play through the game for a review... Then again, and in what can only be considered a showcase of spontaneous dialects, it remains both fun and addictive; a bit like Tetris actually. What's more, Waveform is indeed something one has to definitely try in order to experience an oddly relaxing yet essentially arcade game. 

As for the game's graphics, well, they are all spacey and slightly psychedelic and nice, and help that overall feel of a properly polished game. As, of course, does Waveform's amazing soundtrack. And the ton of little touches, black hole levels, achievements and extras that the devs have kindly packed in this rather lovely and bravely original game.

Verdict: A refreshing and actually successful attempt at a spectacularly innovative arcade game. Definitely worth a try, if only to experience how something truly new feels like.

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• Waves: the calm review
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Waves: the calm review

It's been over a week since the last time I loaded Waves and did thus have all the time one could ask for to calmly look back at the game. Hadn't I been so wise in my decision to wait before writing this review all I'd be able to come up with would be something along the lines of best game ever, which would frankly be silly. Or at least over the top. Monkey Island 2 hasn't been bested yet. Neither has Manic Miner.

Besides, I can see clearer now. The destructive addiction is most probably over and I have even stopped dreaming of glowing platonic shapes. I will thus say that Waves is merely the best twin-stick arena shooter I have ever played and, believe it or not, I loved arena shooters ever since I first played Robotron. And have  constantly been reminded of their greatness with a little help from Smash TV, Geometry Wars and my favorite single-stick shmups included in the Bundle of Wrong.

Waves, now, was actually good enough when played with the humble mouse and keyboard combo to force me to buy an Xbox (eeerk, I know) controller for my PC; an act bordering on sacrilege while simultaneously trigerring a revelation. Those newfangled console controllers are pretty amazing beasts aparently! And they can make games like Waves even better. They can actually make them brilliant. And elegant exercises in moving, shooting and on-the-fly tactical thinking.

Having played with Waves for over 30 hours (quite an achievement for a game without a single line of plot) I have come to deeply appreciate what Squid in a Box and the ever talented Rob Fearon have managed to pull off. Waves is a beautiful and expertly designed game, sporting excellent controls, intricate yet easy to grasp scoring mechanics, psychedelic graphics, smart smart-bombs, a ton of impressively varied game modes, a brilliant soundtrack and some lovely touches of anarchic humour. It's even got achievements that will force you to play it in truly imaginative ways.

Oh, and as beating a friend's high-score can be too enjoyable to be considered healthy, please do join me in having some Waves fun on Steam. You must have by now understood what a fantastic indie offering it really is.

Verdict: A gloriously addictive psychedelic drug without any side-effects whatsoever. It will though give you neon nightmares. Grab it and let it grab you back.

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Future Lovecraft - a book review

Future Lovecraft is not some sort of temporally distanced relative of Howard Philips Lovecraft. Far from it. It is, instead, a book. A proper book, that can also be enjoyed in that newfangled e-book format. A book that has absolutely nothing to do with games, besides the fact that most gamers do seem to have heard of Cthulhu, and a book that's been published by the Insmouth Free Press.

What? No games? Why am I writing about it then? Well, I read it, enjoyed it, was intrigued by the idea behind it and thought I'd let you, oh passionate reader, know. Also thought it would make for a welcome change of pace.

Future Lovecraft, you see, is an anthology of contemporary short stories and poetry inspired by the works of Lovecraft and set sometime in the distant future. It is thus a collection of science fiction literature with a cosmic horror twist, and an approach I always thought would work. Lovecraft's materialist outlook and alien universe were, after all, begging to be explored by spaceships; his elder gods were patiently waiting for adventurous explorers and postapocalyptic fiction could always use Nyarlathotep.

Besides, Lovecraft himself did pen some excellent and very proper sci-fi stories, including the brilliant In The Walls of Eryx.

So, is this anthology any good? Does it fulfill its promise? Yes, yes it does; for the most part at least. You will find a couple of truly brilliant short stories in there and more than a few that, though not masterpieces, will definitely make enjoyable and even interesting reads. Stories definitely worth your time, if only to let them show off their original and odd takes on familiar ideas. 

Then again, there's also the poetry, which I frankly couldn't (and wouldn't) judge. Let's just say that I really can't see sonnets on ominous fungi and old ones replacing Edgar Allan Poe anytime soon and leave it at that. Then again, I did only read three of the included poems and those were the shorter ones.

Anyway. You probably already know whether you care for this sort of thing... You can find out more about Future Lovecraft (and obviously purchase a very reasonably priced copy) here. Let me just say it's brilliantly illustrated and that it did keep me some lovely -and varied- company. 

Related @ Gnome's Lair:

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Da New Guys Review

Adventure gaming has covered a staggering variety of themes, plots and characters, has toyed with a multitude of ideas and has come up with some truly wild stories, but has never dabbled with professional wrestling. Well, not until Da New Guys: Day of the Jackass (and admittedly it's less known prequel) it hadn't, for the latest Wadjet Eye Game and Icebox Studios release does indeed enter the ring of b-grade professional wrestling (with its eyebrow emphatically raised) and points and clicks its way to gaming victory.

Now, truth be said, ever since I reached the mature and enlightened age of 10 I've discovered that wrestling is simply not for me and moved on. It was far too silly and not funny enough to keep me interested, a fact that makes the achievements of Da New Guys: Day of the Jackass all the more important, as it effortlessly and despite an overburdened schedule kept me glued to the monitor for hours. Also, I laughed. 

Being a sequel of sorts to 2004 indie darling Da New Guys, Day of the Jackass is a traditional point-and-click adventure sporting some decidedly non-traditional protagonists and a delightfully dry sense of humour. It plays with its plot, distorts its setting and actually comes up with an enjoyable story that serves its gameplay well.  Brain, you see, the worst and most irritating brawler in wrestling has won the title belt and gotten himself promptly kidnapped. It is thus up to his mates, tough-guy Simon and soft-spoken Defender, to rescue him.

This of course is easier said than done, as this game not only looks old fashioned, but actually plays the old fashioned way, meaning that, yes, it is indeed tough. Da New Guys took me hours to beat and, unlike most recent adventures, actually demanded I consulted a walkthrough and even used a pen to note and sketch stuff. It can actually be difficult to the point of frustration and at times overtaxes ones ability for lateral thinking.

Still, after the first relatively subdued yet difficult act of the game is over, Da New Guys reveals what it's really made of and that's a huge variety of taxing, innovative, fresh and fun puzzles. Yes, they are tough, but not all games need to cater to all tastes. What is after all the point of being indie if you are afraid to take a few risks?  

As for the game's graphics, well, they too are a matter of personal taste. They are far too idiosyncratic to please everyone, but they definitely have a certain charm, are very well animated indeed, and do grow on you. Besides, we adventurers do appreciate consistency, depth and production values and Da New Guys is bound to please the hardcore gamer hiding inside you and me reader.

Oh, and it's got a lovely soundtrack and sports some excellent voices too. The included achievements and unlockable art should also be considered signs of care and affection for a truly unique project.

Verdict: A great adventure game that successfully and hilariously challenges the hardcore point-and-clicker.    

Related @ Gnome's Lair:

• Quest in Space for Space Quest
• The Steve Ince interview
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A zombie-infested Metal Dead review

Even though one of the loudest clubs of my youth is no more, metal music is far from dead. Just like the demise of Sierra and the sad Star Wars-fueled downward spiral of Lucasarts never really spelled the end of the adventure game as a popular genre and a quality alternative to the mindless, militaristic shooting of things, heavy metal is still happily around. And no, I'm neither talking about that Kickstarter thing nor about Brutal Legend. I'm talking about Metal Dead.

My dear reader shouldn't be surprised to find out that Metal Dead (by shiny, new indie developer Walk Thru Walls) is indeed a 2D point-and-click adventure created with AGS. We both, after all, do love a good adventure and Metal Dead is a very good one indeed. And it feels fresh and funny too.

No, not really... Even cops are well-written in Metal Dead. I'm amazed!

Metal Dead is, you see, the closest we've come to the brilliance of Maniac Mansion since, well Maniac Mansion. It's the Shaun of the Dead of adventure gaming. It's a tongue-in-cheek take on the zombie genre that's more surreal and smart than an open, and usually clumsy, parody. It's odd, smart, funny, delightfully weird and capable of taking the tired zombies theme and turning it into something smart and quirky (admittedly with a little help from heavy metal music and the assorted stereotypes).

The game, a very traditional inventory-based and dialog-driven point-and-clicker, manages to masterfully weave the essentially non-violent and slow paced nature of the adventure game around an action-packed and ultra-violent theme, while impressively maintaining the light-hearted and surreal feel of the finest of Lucasarts and Sierra offerings. Happily, the blood-splattered humorous feel is also to be found in the game's puzzles, which, though generally easy, are logical, well integrated and actually fun.

Though pretty short (stopping the zombie apocalypse shouldn't take more than 5 hours), Metal Dead stays refreshingly silly and engaging throughout and never outstays its welcome, while constantly offering a response for absolutely anything you might think of doing and, of course, something surreal to do. You'll be talking with the severed zombified head of your best mate (an ingenious hint system), killing zombies, saving doctors, unlocking hilarious achievements and murdering mutated cannabis plants, all the while combining items, engaging in brilliant dialogues and even guessing passwords. 

Things do actually get very bloody indeed.

On the audiovisual side of things, well, things are simple but effective. There is no voice-over and only a few tracks of music, but you'll probably never complain. Imagining the sound of the characters' voices is something I always enjoyed... Oh, and I do quite love the graphics. Simple, clean, unique and very expressive.

Verdict: You'll love the bloody humour. You'll love the plot. You'll love the characters. You'll love the puzzles. You'll love the price. Buy it.

Related @ Gnome's Lair:

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The Book of Unwritten Tales Review

It's been quite some time since I last played an adventure game that took me over 15 hours to finish, and, admittedly, that was an (apparently undisclosed) offering released over 10 years ago. Seems that expansive point and clickers are so passé these days... Shockingly and quite unexpectedly then, The Book of Unwritten Tales entertained me for quite a bit more than that, while remaining a brand new game. A rare kind of brand new adventure game actually: the epic kind!

Then again, everything epic isn't by definition a great idea. Epic can easily turn into dull, though that definitely is not the case with The Book of Unwritten Tales. I already mentioned it entertained me, didn't I? It is after all such a varied, engaging, wisely paced and well-crafted game that it never feels padded, tedious or boring and will, as soon as you finish it, leave a big gaping, err, gap in your psyche in a way only, well, epic, fantasy novels and a rare few games manage. Thankfully, said gap is easy to heal, but you get the point.

Never though that gremlin scholars lived in such rustic places...

We are not talking Tolkien, Martin and Moorcock here, we are talking Terry Pratchett. We are talking light-hearted fantasy with more than a few humorous touches, that is neither satire nor farce.

The Book of Unwritten Tales, you see, is set in a more or less proper fantasy world. There are mages, there are trolls, there are gnomes (yay!), there are knights and castles, there are undead, there are hidden artifacts, there are heroes, there are elves, there are dragons and there's a battle between good and evil going on. On the other hand, everything feels like it's taking place in some sort of tongue-in-cheek version of a standard MMORPG setting. The gnomes' machines never seem to properly work, the orcs are organizing battles in order to support their weapons industry, mystical rings are trusted to little creatures, dragons get fearsome with the help of manuals and Death himself is despairing over the genre's lack of dead bodies.

Intrigued? Well, you really should be, as King Art (the game's developers) have nailed both the setting and the writing. Even better, they have nailed the humour and have created an atmosphere not wholly dissimilar to the one prevalent in Monkey Island 2. The Book of Unwritten Tales (hence BoUT; sorry, can't be bothered otherwise) can be both (moderately) dark and hilariously funny. And that scene with the forgotten mummy has easily squeezed itself into my funniest gaming moments ever; it's that good, it is, but not as funny as a certain later segment in the game where a gibberish-talking yet oddly playable character tries to provide with descriptions using only noises and gestures.

BoUT, as you may have already guessed, does provide with more than one playable characters; it provides with four. There's a young gnome that craves for magic, a slightly under-dressed elf, a Han Solo inspired rogue and his blobby sidekick. Each one has different abilities and is utilized for solving different kinds of puzzles. 

Speaking of puzzles, they are generally easy, brilliantly integrated in the plot and quite varied, as they do let gamers mix potions, talk their way out of situations, combine items, solve mechanical problems and even navigate maps based on vague and ancient writings. Admittedly a few of them (only a couple I believe) are not particularly well designed, but I do suppose that coming up with dozens of puzzles and expecting each and every one to be brilliant is simply impossible. Even Gabriel Knight 3 and Grim Fandango had their moments of pointless frustration...

Then again, for every minor flaw one might discover, there's at least one beautiful (and very dynamic) background, one brilliantly voiced character, one original puzzle or, at least, one smart joke to set things right. BoUT is, tiny problems aside, destined to become classic.

There's something for everyone. And I do mean everyone.

Verdict: A fantastic, stunning, humorous, fantasy adventure for people that can appreciate humour. Grab it now (here) or -at the very least- try its demo.

Related @ Gnome's Lair:

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Fate of the World: Tipping Point Review

Fate of the World: Tipping Point is a unique, deeply political, scientific and thus truly rare beast. It also is an indie game that plays a lot like a card game and is tasking you, the player, with saving the world. Well, humanity to be precise, as I'm pretty sure that the world will do just fine without us. Shockingly though, saving humanity does not involve fighting aliens with ridiculously sized guns or destroying hordes of zombies while exposing nefarious conspiracies. No. This time around it involves tackling real societal problems and their environmental and political consequences in a frighteningly realistic manner.

Fate of the World is after all based on the scientific and political theories of Prof. Myles Allen, and does an incredible job in transforming an apparently complex set of ideas into a game; not that I'm aware of the good professor's theory mind, but I've apparently been exposed to quite a few similar ones. The EU's official environmental policies do, for example, spring to mind: environmentalism mixed with moderate free market doctrines and capitalist developmental ideas... 

Problem is that such a profoundly political game cannot simply be judged as a mere piece of entertainment software. It should and will have to face political and scientific criticism and -happily- what with me being a geographer, there are a ton of things I disagree with. Now, I could tire both you and myself by providing an extensive critique, but I will simply stick to my key problems: a) the game seems to ignore the political importance of the masses, b) it considers capitalism as a natural and unchangeable socioeconomic reality, c) it fails to see such facts as the strong relationship of services and production and d) it is incredibly deterministic.

The typical gameplay screen is most atypical.

Now, this doesn't mean that the game isn't good or that it doesn't base itself on a sound scientific base. It's just that I couldn't help but notice a few things I strongly disagree with and mainly that generally irritating bourgeois, supposedly technocratic school of thought. It does make quite a few decent and generally accepted points though and I can't help but admit that some of the game's ideological problems might be attributed to the fact that turning a theory into something enjoyable, let alone playable, is very difficult indeed. But I really don't want to sound negative. Really. Fate of the World: Tipping Point is a great, deviously educational, rich and incredibly thought-provoking game.

I am, after all, most impressed with what Fate of the World actually achieves. It's an astoundingly simple to play strategy game that manages to be both deep and educational. Let me give you an example of play: you have to make sure that the living standards of Africa rise, while its carbon emissions fall; you thus buy agents for northern and southern Africa (each agent allows one card to be played in the region he/she is stationed); you buy and play an equal number of cards to your agents (cards are usually certain policies); you click the end turn button and hope for the best. Sadly Africa gets destroyed. Well, the first few times you tackle its problems at least.

Playing, you see, is easy and the mechanics straightforward. Understanding the consequences of your choices is another matter entirely and this is what makes the game such a brilliant offering. You could help industry, but damage the environment and them wages. You could go for supposedly eco-friendly fuel and somehow kill off the panda. You could educate people only to have them revolt (which does make a lot of sense) and so on and so forth. What's more you have a ton of scenarios and cards to play around with and a multitude of connections to discover. 

Oh, and if you already own the original Fate of the World, you should really upgrade it to Tipping Point. It features some apparently important updates and fixes, and two whole DLC packs. You can get the game and the upgrade pack right here.

Want to feel my wrath? Play these cards and wait.

Verdict: Despite some political shortcoming only a few will notice, this is an excellent strategy game, that can indeed educate on certain environmental truths. Definitely worth your time.

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The Blackwell Deception Review

I'm writing this review immediately after playing through The Blackwell Deception and despite the fact that it wont be appearing on Gnome's Lair for the next two or so weeks. Now, I do understand that this wouldn't really matter to anyone else, but it just felt right letting you know kind reader. It also feels right to immediately start typing away in the hope of conveying the feeling of the game; its powerful aftertaste. Oh, and don't worry, I have all the time in the world to fix typos and make sure this review reads less like the ramblings of an over-excited fantasy creature and more like an almost proper review.

So, feelings... Well, there's all sorts of them. That feeling one gets when finishing a great book that most obviously needs a sequel. A certain empathy with the game's protagonists. A deep appreciation for the work that has so obviously gone into this game. Sheer enjoyment of beauty. Catharsis. And thoughts. Thoughts about real problems, real places, real people and not so real ghosts. Thoughts about just how more interesting, smart, enjoyable, relevant and beautiful a small indie offering can be when compared to a multi-million dollar piece of mainstream boredom. Thoughts that could dangerously lead to spoiler-territory; the arch-enemy of all story and character driven games.

For Blackwell Deception, the fourth installment in the Blackwell series by Dave Gilbert, is one of those rare games that do actually tell a great story. A story that manages to both engage the player and provide with that sense of involvement only our dear interactive medium can, err, provide and only a point-and-click adventure game can do so well. A story about tormented ghosts and the private detective sort of couple helping them move on to a probably serene afterlife, while something bigger and more sinister is going on in the background. A story about introverted psychic Rosagnela, her ghostly side-kick Joey and New York City. A story that works perfectly on its own, but even better when experienced as part of a series, as it does indeed advance the over-arching plot.

Interestingly and quite impressively the plot and the puzzles are tightly knit together in a cohesive whole, without ever getting into each others way. The game might not be extremely easy -it actually is a fair and at times challenging adventure- but the puzzles are varied, interesting, logical and progressively harder. Making phone calls to an increasing selection of contacts, changing between two playable characters of vastly differing abilities, searching through a slightly underdeveloped version of the web, asking around, solving dialogue puzzles and even, more traditionally, combining items, make sure things never get stale.

Add the excellent pacing, the top-notch animation (by none other than the incredibly talented Ben 304), the beautiful pixel-art, them lovely and at times animated or scrolling backgrounds, the stunning character portraits, the quality of the writing, the overall polish, the embedded and most enlightening commentary, the game's hefty length, the professional voice-acting and that jazzy soundtrack, and you have one of the best adventure games since 2000. Deception is also easily the best Blackwell game so far, as long time fans are bound to discover, but also a great starting point for those wishing to join the fun.

Verdict: A fantastic adventure game. Buy it now and make sure to thank me afterwards. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have to give it another playthrough.  

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Space Hulk and the joys of murdering Tyranids

I have been forming a pretty wild theory (which belongs to me and is mine) recently and it more or less goes a bit like this: The deepening of the economic crisis will lead to increased socialization, that will in turn lead to an increase in the popularity of board gaming; even more so if the required board games have already been bought. And, uhm, that's about it I suppose. Besides, that was the theorem I went on and empirically (successfully too) tested last night with the help of Space Hulk.

Interestingly it wasn't the second edition of the game I cracked open and hauled over to a friend's place; it was the third and latest version of Space Hulk. The one Games Workshop cunningly released in limited numbers. The same game I hadn't played since 2009 even though I most definitely enjoyed it. Actually, I was most impressed by it, but apparently was the only one in the Lair that appreciated it. The kind lady was mostly indifferent to its many charms and exquisite production values.

Now, as I was emphatically reminded yesterday, Space Hulk comes in a particularly impressive, big, heavy and beautiful box, that's filled to the brim with miniatures, dice, tiles, rulebooks, counters, an hourglass and everything one might need to play. And though I did remember that them Space Marines and Tyranids (nasty Alien-like nasties) were some of the best Warhammer 40,000 miniatures ever, I had completely forgotten just how fantastic the game tiles were in all their embossed, beautifully painted, dark glory. Well, apparently, they still are and everything looks excellent to the point that the table we set up to play, impressively made the good ladies present take notice. I mean, really, who could have the willpower to resist the evolved aesthetics of everyone's favourite totalitarian sci-fi army?

Not that the bugs look much worse of course...

Anyway. That's enough with the fanboy drooling and gawking at tiny plastic skulls. Time to completely ignore the quality of the rule- and mission books too, and briefly describe how the thing plays. Well, Space Hulk is a two-players only game in which one player controls the Space Marine and the other the Genestealers side, each taking turns to move on the board and performing actions like opening doors, shooting, attacking the close combat way, moving artifacts, burning rooms, reloading weapons and further things of the sort, while trying to achieve each mission's objectives. Interestingly the game does come with 12 built-in  missions - every single one of them featuring new objectives, weapons, miniatures, special rules, board layouts and even a bit of backstory (fluff, I believe some would call it) to help with the atmosphere. Every game usually takes around 60 minutes.

Gameplay-wise though, what really stands out are the action-points mechanics (they should be familiar to people who have enjoyed turn-based strategic games like X-Com or Laser Squad) and the fact that Space Marines only see the aliens as blips on a radar, up to the point they come face-to-face with them and their true numbers are revealed. As each of these blips could conceal up to three Genestealers, things can get both strategic and very tense indeed. Oh, and good poker players will definitely be at an advantage here...

Thankfully, neither me nor the friend I played Space Hulk with are terribly good at card games, yet I must admit we really enjoyed the game in its initial simplicity, apparent balance and revealed depth. After finishing the first mission we were both craving for more and coming up with strategic principles and tactical responses. Yes, it was this good.

Closing bit: This article might have felt like a review, which it partly is, but sadly it's a review of something you can't easily buy unless you head off to places like eBay. On the other hand you can get a very good idea of how Space Hulk plays and what it looks like over at the Games Workshop and Board Game Geek sites. And you can always play the excellent and freeware Alien Assault on your PC; it's the closest you will ever get to a digital version of the game and a fantastic strategic offering in its own right.

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The Dream Machine Chapters 1 & 2 review

Plato, Jung, Freud, a young ordinary couple and some exquisite visuals are the true stars of The Dream Machine; an episodic, indie point-and-click adventure game I have already enthusiastically previewed and now finally get to properly review. Well, properly review its first two chapters to be precise, as apparently the third and far from final one is just around the corner and not quite available yet. Besides, reviewing unreleased stuff can be quite tricky. Impossible some might say.

Now, following my urge to simply instruct you dear reader/minion-thing to immediately hop over to the Dream Machine site and grab it -for it is a great game indeed- would be way easier, but something tells me this wouldn't be much of a review then.

Anyway, let us now focus on the picture posted above. How could we describe it? Well, beautiful I suppose. Unique might come in handy too. And stylish. Yes, yes, deeply atmospheric also. Slightly ominous is another one. Definitely nice. Then again the word we are indeed looking for here is handcrafted. Yes, as in properly, physically, manually crafted using traditional non-digital components. Everything you'll see in the game -every backdrop, every character, every animation- was actually created by hand and photographed. This dear friend is 3D, but not of the 3D Studio kind:

Stunning visuals aside, the Dream Machine is an impressively good and rather traditional indie game of the point-and-click sort, that is less traditionally played via a browser and somehow manages to save your process in a cloud; or was that clouds? I frankly wouldn't know. Steam also sports some sort of a cloud they tell me, but I'm pretty sure I was once taught clouds are made of steam and, well, did I mention it's a great game? It is. And it's got a great and appropriate soundtrack to go with it too.

The puzzles, though relatively easy, are varied, excellently integrated in the plot and -importantly- never feel out of place or immersion-breaking. In the surreal and perfectly paced story of the game, after all, oddness feels integral. Besides, and without wanting to spoil anything from the plot which slowly progress from helping a likeable young couple find its way around a new apartment to discovering some rather disturbing truths, I really wouldn't care much for another vaguely disguised take on Tolkien and/or Stoker, let alone another half-baked adventure pathetically apeing genre classics. This actually is a truly original game that manages its characters, storytelling and twists way better than your average Hollywood movie.

Oh, and The Dream Machine is also one of those rare few game that constantly evoke the sense of wonder and excitement the games of yore used to. One simply can't expect the wonderfully wonderful wonders awaiting around the next corner and I can't help but feel this is what games were supposed to be all about. 

Verdict: A wonderful, smart, visually stunning, polished and downright brilliant adventure game. Buy it. Now.

Related @ Gnome's Lair:

• The Guide to Classic Graphic Adventures
• The Syberia Collection review
• Snakes of Avalon
• Agustin Cordes: an interview

The Syberia Collection Review

With the advent and admitted affordability of downloadable games one can easily forget just how lovely a properly packaged offering can actually feel. Yes, even by today's meager standards, the physicality of a box, a modest manual, a sleeve and an actual DVD can be rather satisfying. Especially when sporting a most affordable price tag, which, oh so conveniently, happens to be the case of the Syberia Collection.

Said collection of the almost classic and definitely well known Syberia, Syberia II and Amerzone adventures, you see, is much cheaper to grab in a DVD-case than its online/download only equivalents, which does indeed confuse my vaguely economological mind, but definitely sounds great. Being thus confused and all, I do also believe the thing should have been called The Benoit Sokal Collection, as Amerzone most emphatically is not a Syberia game.

Now, as most adventurers know, all three games are fine point-and-click specimens that managed to make an impression during the darkest period of the genre and are still absolutely worth playing and owning. Especially if one is into this sort of thing (i.e. considers oneself an adventure gamer), as all three have been designed with the traditonal point-and-click gamer in mind. The re-mastered versions included in the collection seem pretty much identical to the original ones, though I must admit I haven't played those since their respective releases and can't be absolutely sure whether minor enhancements have been included or not. What does matter though is that everything runs lovely and glitch-free under both Windows 7 and Vista, meaning that these are indeed the versions to own.

As for the misguided souls that haven't tried any of the games on offer yet, let me just say they all feature excellent art -Mr. Sokal is after all a most talented comic artist- classic gameplay mechanics, great soundtracks, mostly easy but well-integrated puzzles, traditional interfaces, brilliant settings and pretty decent plots. The two Syberias in particular are played from a third person perspective and take place in a whimsical clockwork-operated world, whereas the first-person Amerzone is set in a fantastical version of a thinly disguised Amazon rainforest.

What's more and judging by the fact that I thoroughly enjoyed replaying all three of the games on offer, I must admit they have all aged gracefully. Might even have to accept the fact they are, despite their flaws, great adventures I would probably had appreciated more weren't I comparing them to Grim Fandango and Gabriel Knight III. 

Verdict: A collection of three classic and traditional adventures at an excellent price. Genre lovers shouldn't miss it.

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• The Guide to Classic Graphic Adventures 
• Hector: Badge of Carnage Episode 1 review
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A C64 Walkabout Book Review

As I love books, care for retro games, deeply appreciate the Commodore 64 and don't have the disposable income to entertain myself in more extravagant ways, a little $1 ebook called A Commodore 64 Walkabout was both tantalizing and within reach. I thus digitally grabbed it, was pretty amazed I had bought it in a huge variety of formats ranging from PDF to them Kindle-loving .mobi files, promptly loaded the thing on my Kindle and started reading, while simultaneously noticing it was written by Robinson Manson. Yes, the same person that happily runs the excellent C64 Walkabout retro site.

Now, the book might generally and rather oddly be aimed at people that aren't so much into retro gaming and collecting (especially of the Commodore variety) just yet, what with its extended introduction on the joys of classic hardware and gaming, but there's quite a bit more to it than that. Mind you, as a beginner's guide to emulating and enjoying the hundreds of classic C64 and VIC-20 games the C64 Walkabout is pretty much excellent. It lets readers in on a bit of history, what emulators to grab, where to find the games, utilities and demos they'll need, how to run them via emulation and even suggest some rather lovely titles.

It's also pretty good when it comes to collecting hardware, though it rather infuriatingly chooses to focus on the VIC-20 and actually for the most part ignore the Commodore 64 itself. Now, you might call me an idiosyncratically grumpy person, but when I do read a C64 book, I do expect C64 content to outweigh VIC-20 one. Not that this isn't the case throughout the book, mind, but I would really love to read an equally detailed piece on collecting C64 hardware.

Said minor annoyance aside, the book is pretty lovely and actually unique as, unlike most retro publications, it does go for a more personal feel, which is frankly brilliant; Mr. Mason, you see, does have a thing for CRPGs and text-adventures and isn't afraid to even walk readers through the more obscure ones like Castle of Spirits. Actually, many of the included games are presented with all the info you'd ever need to get them running on a modern PCs, as well as a short play-guide and -in selected cases- are impressively accompanied by a creator's interview.

As an added bonus the Commodore 64 Walkabout doesn't limit itself to games either. A whole section of the book details the productive and creative aspects of the machine, with SID music being of course the most prominent. The modern remix scene is briefly presented, the needed programs are examined and some lovely tunes are suggested, though what I particularly enjoyed, what really convinced me to take the time and suggest this book, was the look at the Micro Illustrator art package. Why? Well, why not?

Verdict: A lovely, personal book for the Commodore 64 and VIC-20 micros that keeps in mind that some people might have only recently been retro-intrigued.   

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The lovable Atom Zombie Smasher

Killing zombies is part of a gamer's daily routine, which is all fine and apparently dandy, but I simply can't stomach another undead infested FPS. Bombing thousands of undead along with some unfortunate not-quite-dead-yet citizens, on the other hand, is another matter entirely and as Atom Zombie Smasher emphatically showed me, a most refreshing and enjoyable, if not downright noble, pass-time. Oh, and it's a novel way to battle stuff too, though you probably know all about it already, what with Atom Zombie Smasher being a part of the biggest and least humble of Humble Indie Bundles so far.

Anyway, as simply reminding you of its existence wouldn't do anyone any good, let me just point out that in Atom Zombie Smasher you get to evacuate yellow and blue dots (civilians and scientists apparently) while destroying pink dots (those would be the zombies), in what can only be described as an unholy fusion of RTS, action, orbital bombing and tower defense mechanics in one impressively coherent whole.  Add the between levels strategic and slightly reminiscent of RISK portions and you have a deep, satisfyingly difficult and unique game; yes, with zombies. In a nutshell, it is thus an engaging, addictive and downright fun affair that had me using my upgraded artillery throughout more than a few nights.

Admittedly though, dots of varying colors and, after a certain point, bigger dots don't sound like much when it comes to visuals, but this lovely indie game manages to look good in a way vaguely reminiscent of the original GTA, only with some added pyrotechnics. Besides, it does feature an utterly brilliant soundtrack, that puts much grander productions to shame. 

What's more, the dozens of extra game modes, unlockable, brilliantly illustrated vignettes and a multitude of little touches add a polished feel to Atom Zombie Smasher, which more than makes up for its minor shortcomings. Only a couple of different enemies and a handful of playable units would have made a lesser game feel pretty poor indeed... And the difficulty curve is far from perfect too, which does admittedly make for a more rewarding first, uhm, dozen of hours.

Verdict: Orbital terror at its best and least terrifying. Also, a zombie murder simulator to cheer you up while perfecting those tactical skills.

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