Just a few years ago, people were begging for the System Shock 2 legal situation to be resolved. It wasn’t a technical problem, but a legal death trap of rights that entangled its feet, keeping it just out of grasp as we all reached out to save it. And then it was suddenly in our hands, and we could all have the game on the digital distribution platform of our choosing. With that resolved, it seemed that the story of System Shock 2 was over. But wait *shocking twist music*, like a hand shooting out of a grave, there’s one final moment for SS2 to surprise us: a new update that lands it on Linux. It is available right now on Steam.

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Follow me, readers. We shall wander through a metaphorical world of cardboard and shelves, passing things that once were but now are not. Here is one. It is labelled Human Sacrifice>. Let us ponder the significance of the metaphor within this metaphor. Look, there’s one that says Leech Therapy>. And over there is another that is labelled Whigfield>. There is no box labelled War>. Do you see? We are getting closer, closing in on the recent past–be careful to not slip on the Pogs–and the box of game demos should be just about… wait. That can’t be. It was here the other day. No! NO! That means we can’t stop game demos from being released. They said this day would come! Noo>oOooooOOOoo...

Wait. That’s a good thing. Everyone release demos! What’s that, Wadjet Eye Games? You’ve released a demo of The Blackwell Epihpany? Hooray!

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Being from Texas, I can count the number of snowmen I’ve built on one hand. Being from Texas, they were also about the size of said one hand. I did get the chance to slap together a bulbous yeti of truly epic proportions in college, though. I took so much pride in that dumb thing that I nearly tried to put a hit out on whomever kicked it down during that coldest of winter nights. I can identify with A Good Snowman Is Hard To Build‘s title, is what I’m saying. The game itself, however, is probably not what you’re expecting – a thing of snow-white relaxation and contemplation, not astute snowperson defense. It’s a simple yet wickedly challenging puzzler from Sokobond designer Alan Hazelden, with lovably, huggably soft personality to match.

Each snowperson has a name. A name! Awwwwwwwww.

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Statistically speaking, you are probably not Ken Levine. That’s fine. I’m not him, either. And neither is Graham. But thanks to all the silicon and electricity and stuff, you can at least be a bit like him. One of the ways in which he’s been special recently is in the role of cheerleader for the Chaos Reborn Kickstarter, where he’s been championing Julian Gollop’s return. He has already played (or should that now be ‘Let’s Played’?) the hexy beast, and now you can too. Head here to grab the time-limited prototype of the strategic wiz thing, and bring some friends.

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By which I mean: I’ve played Warframe over the past couple of weeks and will now write about it, for your possible edification.

Warframe is a sci-fi over-the-shoulder shooter where space ninjas have upgradeable sharkfin heads. Sadly that doesn’t quite clinch the deal, because the free-to-play beast of Digital Extremes has been in beta for a year now, and still hasn’t quite driven home the wakizashi of success. But has that journey delivered it from the hollow purgatory of its early release? Or will it determine to be a footnote in the history of free-to-play experimentation?

I donned my impossible fish helmet to find out.> … [visit site to read more]

By which I mean: I’ve played Warframe over the past couple of weeks and will now write about it, for your possible edification.

Warframe is a sci-fi over-the-shoulder shooter where space ninjas have upgradeable sharkfin heads. Sadly that doesn’t quite clinch the deal, because the free-to-play beast of Digital Extremes has been in beta for a year now, and still hasn’t quite driven home the wakizashi of success. But has that journey delivered it from the hollow purgatory of its early release? Or will it determine to be a footnote in the history of free-to-play experimentation?

I donned my impossible fish helmet to find out.> … [visit site to read more]

Mysterious things, boxes. What’s in them? Biscuits, cats, our wife’s severed head… we simply won’t know until we open them. How enigmatic this makes The Evil Within‘s villainous Boxman, so named because he’s a man with a box on his head. What ever could this box contain! It’s quite comforting, though. Seeing Boxman and co in a new trailer for the scare-o-shooter reminds me of Resident Evil 4, which is certainly welcome. We’ve got cruel countryfolk, silly science, mansion deathtraps, honking great fleshy monsters, and characters taking very seriously things which are quite absurd.

Capcom have clearly lost the knack of making good Resident Evil games, not to mention that it’s drowning with tons of horrible lore pushing it down into dark waters, but perhaps other people can nail that tone. To a wall. Then write something cryptic in blood. Then a shocked character cries “Wha- what is this!”

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Rehearsals and Return is the new game from (primarily) Peter Brinson, creator of the remarkable art/history/politics vignette The Cat & The Coup. This shares a certain cut-up appearance and a maudlin tone (well, depending on how you approach it), but it’s a rudimentary platform game set to surrealistic, sometimes chaotic backgrounds, wherein you collect dialogue options then make decisions about how to treat assorted famous and infamous figures. And a few less famous ones too.

At present it costs just $1, and will eventually rise to $4. This is a discussion of the experience I had with it, not of its value proposition.> … [visit site to read more]

“Doom clones” we called the rush of games which followed in the wake of Doom in the mid-nineties. It’s a daft and dismissive term in retrospect, though less clinical than “first-person shooter,” but, well, weren’t they basically just Doom? In the same vein, until newcomers start properly distinguishing themselves I’ll happily use “Dote ‘em up” and “Doter” for DotA-y games like Dawngate.

You can now have a bash at Waystone Games’ free-to-play Doter by joining the open beta. What makes Dawngate different to the rest? Publisher EA will tell you it has “a flexible Meta that lets you play your way” but what does that collection of words even mean?

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VoidExpanse strikes me somewhat as an inevitability. The years of Eve coupled with Elite and Star Citizen’s stratospheric success means a lower budget, retro-styled take on the same idea was viable. Its isometric viewpoint sets it apart from those peers, as does its extremely unpolished, early access state. As with any member of the space trading, exploring, bang-banging massive, the promise of the final game is an incredibly enticing one. The difficulty is seeing through the crashes, balance issues and unfinished mechanics to judge its core worth. VoidExpanse made that especially challenging, but there’s hope.>

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