Processing the Library

I just started using Steam recently (although I have a user for longer than a year now) but to make up for that, I did buy quite a few games in the last three months. A library of twenty games may not seem to be much for an average gamer, but considering that I usually have only 2 or 3 hours a night for everything I want to do - including gaming, programming, reading, watching series/movies, blogging, etc. - it's enough for years. And I didn't even include the non-steam games I play, such as Vanguard or Guild Wars 2.

So I made a decision: I'll lend my GW2 account to one of my friends, and give all of them a go to see what they have to offer. (Normally I would not trust anyone with my account, but we used to live in the same flat, and play MUDs and MMOs together for about 15 years now, so if I can't trust him, I can't trust anyone. Also, I hope this will lead to him buying GW2 :D )

Yesterday, because of certain circumstances, I had a bit more time to play, so I could play with three games for about one hour. Here is my impression of them. (I plan to have a series of blogposts about the ones I tried)

Torchlight II Demo

After reading an article comparing Torchligh II to Diablo 3 two days ago, I decided to check it. I did play with Torchlight 1 for about an hour a year back, and I wasn't really impressed, but that's not a reason to prevent me trying this one.
Well. I can see why this game is good for some, but sadly I am not one of those. I was bored. I didn't feel curious about what's behind the next rock. So, not gonna buy it.
One very interesting facet of this game is the visual style. It is standing out compared to other similar games (Diablo and Titan Quest comes to my mind), it is pleasant to look at, yet, for some reason, it annoys the hell out of me. I'd like to see a movie done with it, but I don't want to play the game in this setting.

Amnesia: The Dark Descent

After Torchlight II, I went to the beginning of my game list, and picked this one. All I knew about it was that it is a horror game, but nothing more specific than that. I am not really into horror, to be honest, so I had my doubts. Well, let's say only this much now: I was surprised.

My friend - the one I mentioned above - told me once that there are two ways to scare someone: One is to use unexpected, sudden images combined with loud voices. The other one is to make the player scared with the right context, music, barely perceptible sounds, etc. Of these two, he continued, the second one is better, because it takes more effort, but it also gives a longer lasting memory. 

Well put. Sometimes you can combine the two for an even better effect, but I personally prefer the second way of scaring the sh*t out of me :D

This is basically how Amnesia operates. There are a lot of small things helping to put you in the right mood: unknown, unseen enemies which you know about, but never see, sudden changes in your perception and movement, signs of Delirium (Sometimes, suddenly, out of the thin air bugs appear around you, they move around on the floor. Then they disappear. OMG!) Very soon you get an on-screen tip that staying in a dark room will degrade your sanity, so it's better to turn on some light. (After this, the tinderboxes that you find here and there will become your best friends, until you find a lantern. From that point on oil is the best possible loot...) There are drops of blood, misplaced furniture and half open or sometimes broken doors here and there. Even the load screens are scary - there is a quote on them, which is always somehow connected to either violence or fear. 

It is indeed very easy to get into the right mood. But, to keep you in game, there is also a lot of mystery around, starting with: Who am I? What happened here? As you go on, information keeps trickling, you find a note here, an interesting formation there, or sometimes you simply hallucinate, remembering old stuff.

After an hour of play I logged out. I was both relieved and a bit disappointed at once - I wanted to go on and explore the story further. 

Even with having reservations about horror, I have to admit that this game is a masterwork. It is quite possible that I will return to it, and play further to find out what happened and what the outcome will be. 

Bastion 

While I was definitely in the dark with the previous game (pun intended ;) ) I knew even less about this one. Someone told me that it is a good game, but I had no idea about the genre, visuals, anything. Literally, for all I knew about it, it could have been a medieval sim or a puzzle or a first person shooter. This is the best way to try a game - without any expectations or prejudice.
After starting up, visiting options, trying to memorize at least some of the key mappings ("hmm, attacking and evading, probably not a puzzle then") I jumped in.
Uhm. A guy is lying on a bed in the middle of a room in the middle of the void. What are we waiting for? Oh right, let's try to move.
This was the point when my jaw fell. I stood up, moved around and suddenly boards and items started to fall, forming a platform for me to walk on. So I stepped on it, kept walking, picked up a BFH (well, it's call Ksomething, but it really is just a big f.ing hammer) and started exploring. Soon I ran into enemies, killed them, moved on, found interesting items, new weapons, new enemies, potions, places to buy potions, change weapons. Then I got to a place where the platform acted just the opposite way: They were originally there, but started falling soon after I moved in the area. So I ran, ran, ran, trying to ignore enemies, towers shooting blue stuff at me, etc. By the time I arrived to Bastion (which in my impression is the central hub of the game) I was deeply impressed and had a lot of fun.
Strange coincidence that I played Torchlight II and Bastion on the same evening. Both of them are about hacking and slashing through tons of enemies. Both of them have a very unique visual appearance. Yet, by far, Bastion is the better of the two, and I will definitely keep on playing this game. It's not terribly expensive, and there is also a demo on Steam, so my advise to everyone is to give it a go, and buy it if you like it.

So that's it for now. Upcoming titles contain Bioshock 1-2, Braid, FTL and more.