Brittany and I played a lot of games at PAX Prime 2015, and I wanted to give impressions on each one. Click the title of each game for a link to the trailer. If you have questions about any of the games, or anything else related to our PAX trip, feel free to ask by commenting below.
Homefront: Revolution
I was pleasantly surprised with Homefront: Revolution. I didn’t play the first game, but this one had my eye because of it’s open world. The game reminded me a lot of the FarCry series of games, but it took place in a city, Philadelphia. I had access to a wide array of gadgets and weapons, and could even modify my weapons on the fly for various situations as needed. One of the things I liked the best out of the demo was that I was playing as a resistance fighter after the North Korean invasion of the US. The enemies I was facing were well armored and had tanks and drones, and I just had a couple of bombs and machine guns. I was constantly outgunned and outnumbered. The game encouraged me to think tactically, something not too common in shooters nowadays, and I even had to run from battles in some instances when the odds simply weren’t in my favor. This was refreshing as it forced me to be creative about how to achieve mission goals and navigate the environment. At one point, when outnumbered, I even ran and hid in an empty train cargo container until the heat died down. When the demo faded to black because my time was over, I was genuinely disappointed. Homefront: Revolution is one I’m going to pick up for sure.
I was pleasantly surprised with Homefront: Revolution. I didn’t play the first game, but this one had my eye because of it’s open world. The game reminded me a lot of the FarCry series of games, but it took place in a city, Philadelphia. I had access to a wide array of gadgets and weapons, and could even modify my weapons on the fly for various situations as needed. One of the things I liked the best out of the demo was that I was playing as a resistance fighter after the North Korean invasion of the US. The enemies I was facing were well armored and had tanks and drones, and I just had a couple of bombs and machine guns. I was constantly outgunned and outnumbered. The game encouraged me to think tactically, something not too common in shooters nowadays, and I even had to run from battles in some instances when the odds simply weren’t in my favor. This was refreshing as it forced me to be creative about how to achieve mission goals and navigate the environment. At one point, when outnumbered, I even ran and hid in an empty train cargo container until the heat died down. When the demo faded to black because my time was over, I was genuinely disappointed. Homefront: Revolution is one I’m going to pick up for sure.
A weird side note about the demo: Before I was allowed to play, they took us into a little theater and showed us a movie of the exact demo we were about to play. In the movie, they played the entire mission to completion. I found this strange, as I was about to play it myself, and it seemed like a huge waste of time, that doing without would have made the line move much faster.
Star Fox Zero
I didn’t get to play Star Fox Zero, as I decided not to wait in the two and a half hour line. However, I did stand there and watch it for a while. It looks a lot like Star Fox 64. My biggest concern was that you would have to use the gamepad in front of your face to play, but in my time watching people play the game, I never saw anyone use this feature. What I saw looked like a lot of fun, so I’m going to continue to keep my eye on this one.
Hob
Hob was the game of the show for Brittany and myself. Beautiful and colorful, Hob plays much like a 3D Zelda game. You explore environments to solve puzzles, and even engage in combat. In those ways, it is the same as a Zelda game. However, there is more verticality. Your character can jump, and platforming is a big element. Also, the world moves, shifts, and changes around you in a way that is hard to describe. Its always fluid and shifting, and this becomes a major element in puzzle solving. Without words, the main character is charming and interesting, and the demo left me wanting more of that world.
Rock Band 4
I only got to play guitar by myself with Rock Band 4 (which is the way I mostly play it anyway, so that was fine). The game is mostly the same, which is a good thing. The new addition I got to try was the new guitar solos feature. At certain points during songs, a solo will come that allows the player to create music free form. I was a bit intimated by this, but in practice it was very cool. The game allowed me to jam out by mashing random buttons and strumming along with the lines on the screen. While on a real guitar the noises I would have made would have gotten me booed off stage, Rock Band 4 took the random notes and made them sound in tone and pitch with the song, so it sounded awesome. The developers assured me that the game also adds this to the old DLC songs from previous games as well, so it’s not just something that will be in songs going forward. Also, I was told that there will be a new mode where you can play entire songs this way, unscored.
Also worth mentioning with Rock Band 4 was the new guitar. It felt very similar to the most recent Rock Band guitar; however, the fret buttons and strum bar were totally silent. The strum bar felt much more solid than previous guitars, and was very responsive while playing. Also, the fret buttons weren’t as tall from the neck, and didn’t have to be pushed in as far before they were depressed as on previous guitars, so it felt more natural gliding your fingers across the slimmer neck of the guitar. Almost like there weren’t buttons there at all, but just the frets on the neck of a guitar. It felt nice, and I can’t wait to get one for myself.
Star Wars: Uprising
When I heard that Star Wars: Uprising was a mobile only Diablo clone, I was disinterested. But I tried it anyway, because Star Wars, and I'm very glad I did. Yes, it plays like Diablo on a mobile phone, but is much deeper than I thought it would be. It has a robust character creation and customization system, and there game does away with character classes in lieu of deep skill trees that allow you to develop your character for your play style. The game has a deep story as well, from what we saw, and the developers told me that it is officially canon, taking place just after Return of the Jedi in the Hoth and Bespin systems where word of the Empire's collapse has not yet reached them. The game is free to play, but you only pay for cosmetic items and not pay to win. I'm really looking forward to this one.
When I heard that Star Wars: Uprising was a mobile only Diablo clone, I was disinterested. But I tried it anyway, because Star Wars, and I'm very glad I did. Yes, it plays like Diablo on a mobile phone, but is much deeper than I thought it would be. It has a robust character creation and customization system, and there game does away with character classes in lieu of deep skill trees that allow you to develop your character for your play style. The game has a deep story as well, from what we saw, and the developers told me that it is officially canon, taking place just after Return of the Jedi in the Hoth and Bespin systems where word of the Empire's collapse has not yet reached them. The game is free to play, but you only pay for cosmetic items and not pay to win. I'm really looking forward to this one.
Headlander
Headlander wasn’t playable, but we were shown gameplay at Double Fine’s party of their new game. Headlander is a Metroid style platformer in which you play a disembodied head on a space station. You are the only organic life, and you can fly your head around the environments. You can attach your head to robot bodies to solve puzzles or engage in combat. The art style was really cool, and there was a lot of detail. I’m excited to get my hands on it!
Headlander wasn’t playable, but we were shown gameplay at Double Fine’s party of their new game. Headlander is a Metroid style platformer in which you play a disembodied head on a space station. You are the only organic life, and you can fly your head around the environments. You can attach your head to robot bodies to solve puzzles or engage in combat. The art style was really cool, and there was a lot of detail. I’m excited to get my hands on it!
Star Wars: Battlefront
We didn’t get a chance to play Star Wars: Battlefront, as the line was always capped. However, I did watch the game being played. The game looks like expected, like a lot of fun. The one thing I wanted to note is that the graphics you see in trailers are real. The game looks unbelievable.
We didn’t get a chance to play Star Wars: Battlefront, as the line was always capped. However, I did watch the game being played. The game looks like expected, like a lot of fun. The one thing I wanted to note is that the graphics you see in trailers are real. The game looks unbelievable.
Lovers in a Dangerous Spacetime
While this game was at PAX, Brittany and I did not play it there. Instead we played the day before at Seattle's EMP Museum's indie game exhibit. Lovers in a Dangerous Spacetime tasks two co-op players with controlling one space ship and navigating randomly generated space fields. Players move from station to station in the ship, controlling shields, navigation, weapons, and so on. Because there are only two of you, you can't do everything all the time, and you really have to work together to accomplish tasks, navigate asteroid fields, and defend your ship from attacking craft. It was a ton of fun, and I highly recommend it to all who love couch co-op.
While this game was at PAX, Brittany and I did not play it there. Instead we played the day before at Seattle's EMP Museum's indie game exhibit. Lovers in a Dangerous Spacetime tasks two co-op players with controlling one space ship and navigating randomly generated space fields. Players move from station to station in the ship, controlling shields, navigation, weapons, and so on. Because there are only two of you, you can't do everything all the time, and you really have to work together to accomplish tasks, navigate asteroid fields, and defend your ship from attacking craft. It was a ton of fun, and I highly recommend it to all who love couch co-op.
Just Cause 3
Just Cause 3 was a ton of fun. The demo was short and tasked me with causing as much destruction as possible on a mountaintop radar dish facility in a couple of minutes. My guess is this will be an in-game challenge type of mode. The demo started me with a rocket launcher and unlimited rockets, so I let loose. The destruction was really cool, and you could tell there was a beefy physics engine at work. At one point I got a helicopter and started buzzing around with the machine gun causing chaos. It wasn’t as fun as unlimited rockets though, so in my button mashing attempting to get out, the character used his grappling hook to attach himself, upside down, underneath the helicopter as it hovered in place. There I was free to rain destruction with my rocket launcher from the sky. That’s when the ridiculous tone of the game clicked for me. Now I’m really looking forward to more time with this game to cause even more chaos.
Just Cause 3 was a ton of fun. The demo was short and tasked me with causing as much destruction as possible on a mountaintop radar dish facility in a couple of minutes. My guess is this will be an in-game challenge type of mode. The demo started me with a rocket launcher and unlimited rockets, so I let loose. The destruction was really cool, and you could tell there was a beefy physics engine at work. At one point I got a helicopter and started buzzing around with the machine gun causing chaos. It wasn’t as fun as unlimited rockets though, so in my button mashing attempting to get out, the character used his grappling hook to attach himself, upside down, underneath the helicopter as it hovered in place. There I was free to rain destruction with my rocket launcher from the sky. That’s when the ridiculous tone of the game clicked for me. Now I’m really looking forward to more time with this game to cause even more chaos.
Fable Legends
When I found out that Fable Legends was a multiplayer arena game, I was profoundly disappointed. I'm a big fan of the series, and I was hoping for another traditional action RPG from the series. However, after hands-on time with the game, I take back all of my fears. The game was a blast. You get to choose from one of 20 or so characters that all have unique ways of fighting and skills. Four Heroes go up against one player controlled villain. The villain plays the game like a real-time strategy game, from a top-down perspective. The villain controls monsters, traps, and environmental hazards in hopes of stopping the players from achieving their goal. The heroes really have to stick together and work together in order to succeed.
When I found out that Fable Legends was a multiplayer arena game, I was profoundly disappointed. I'm a big fan of the series, and I was hoping for another traditional action RPG from the series. However, after hands-on time with the game, I take back all of my fears. The game was a blast. You get to choose from one of 20 or so characters that all have unique ways of fighting and skills. Four Heroes go up against one player controlled villain. The villain plays the game like a real-time strategy game, from a top-down perspective. The villain controls monsters, traps, and environmental hazards in hopes of stopping the players from achieving their goal. The heroes really have to stick together and work together in order to succeed.
Brittany played the villain and at one point, was able to separate me with a spike wall from the rest of the Heroes. Playing the weaker archer character, I didn't last long on my own against the monsters she sent at me, and I was unable to recover. This systematic picking us off lead to her cornering our last standing hero with some huge tree monsters, and eventually wiping us all out. The game will be free to play, and I'm told that you can purchase cosmetic things for your heroes, or purchase heroes outright. However, the game will constantly be rotating heroes so you can try them all, and adding new content as time goes on, for free.
Rainbow Six: Siege
Rainbow Six: Siege isn't normally my type of game. A multiplayer only shooter. However, the mode I got to try, Terro-Hunt, pits a team of five SWAT team officers against a house full of terrorists. It was our job to go in and eliminate them all. We had to work as a team going room by room taking out the threat. At one point, one of our team members got separated and all hell broke loose. We were cornered in this room and fire was coming from every direction. One member of my team took a sledge hammer and pounded a hole in the wall which we used to shoot through, leading to our eventual recovery, and victory. It was a thrilling experience in teamwork, and was really enjoyable.
Rainbow Six: Siege isn't normally my type of game. A multiplayer only shooter. However, the mode I got to try, Terro-Hunt, pits a team of five SWAT team officers against a house full of terrorists. It was our job to go in and eliminate them all. We had to work as a team going room by room taking out the threat. At one point, one of our team members got separated and all hell broke loose. We were cornered in this room and fire was coming from every direction. One member of my team took a sledge hammer and pounded a hole in the wall which we used to shoot through, leading to our eventual recovery, and victory. It was a thrilling experience in teamwork, and was really enjoyable.
Divinity Original Sin 2
Known for its co-op RPG storyline, we wanted to try the sequel to the Kickstarted Divinity: Original Sin. We didn't know that the mode they were showing off was their competitive multiplayer mode, and we were kind of disappointed by that. In the demo, it was Brittany and I versus each other, and also several NPC characters. The characters we played as were leveled up and had a ton of skills, and we had no idea what we were doing. The NPCs killed us off, or we killed ourselves off accidentally, without even engaging each other in the turn based combat. What we played seemed interesting, but wasn't enjoyable. I feel that if we were given less to bite off and were eased into the complex game systems, we may have had more fun with the game.
Known for its co-op RPG storyline, we wanted to try the sequel to the Kickstarted Divinity: Original Sin. We didn't know that the mode they were showing off was their competitive multiplayer mode, and we were kind of disappointed by that. In the demo, it was Brittany and I versus each other, and also several NPC characters. The characters we played as were leveled up and had a ton of skills, and we had no idea what we were doing. The NPCs killed us off, or we killed ourselves off accidentally, without even engaging each other in the turn based combat. What we played seemed interesting, but wasn't enjoyable. I feel that if we were given less to bite off and were eased into the complex game systems, we may have had more fun with the game.
Banner Saga 2
I didn’t notice any changes from the first game, aside from new characters and story. This wasn’t a bad thing, as the first game was fantastic.
Assassin's Creed Syndicate
As a big fan of the franchise, I'm happy to say that I really enjoyed my time with Assassins' Creed Syndicate. The game reminded me a lot of last years mistep, Unity, however, the controls were much tighter and more responsive. I feel that the character did everything I wanted her to, and responded will to my input. I was able to get through the demo very quickly using stealth, and had no problems achieving my tasks despite any kind of game flaw.
Newly added is the grappling hook, which was much more fun and useful than I anticipated. I could traverse between rooftop to rooftop without being seen, and it gave me a tactical advantage when taking out guards on the Tower of London. Also exciting was the combat, which seemed quicker and more brutal, and was definitely more satisfying. I was starting to feel a bit of burnout from Assassin's Creed games, but my time with the demo changed that, and got me excited again.
As a big fan of the franchise, I'm happy to say that I really enjoyed my time with Assassins' Creed Syndicate. The game reminded me a lot of last years mistep, Unity, however, the controls were much tighter and more responsive. I feel that the character did everything I wanted her to, and responded will to my input. I was able to get through the demo very quickly using stealth, and had no problems achieving my tasks despite any kind of game flaw.
Newly added is the grappling hook, which was much more fun and useful than I anticipated. I could traverse between rooftop to rooftop without being seen, and it gave me a tactical advantage when taking out guards on the Tower of London. Also exciting was the combat, which seemed quicker and more brutal, and was definitely more satisfying. I was starting to feel a bit of burnout from Assassin's Creed games, but my time with the demo changed that, and got me excited again.
Legend of Zelda: Triforce Heroes
I've been curious about The Legend of Zelda: Triforce Heroes since it was announced as a co-op game. Playing like the traditional top-down Link to the Past style gameplay, except this time you work with two other Links. Each Link gets an outfit that gives them a special ability. And each Link only gets one item to use, so you have to play to your strengths. The Links can also carry each other to "totem" three high, which was used in both solving puzzles and in combat. It was fun to work as a team to figure out how to solve puzzles and also taking down a boss as a group that had to work together.
I've been curious about The Legend of Zelda: Triforce Heroes since it was announced as a co-op game. Playing like the traditional top-down Link to the Past style gameplay, except this time you work with two other Links. Each Link gets an outfit that gives them a special ability. And each Link only gets one item to use, so you have to play to your strengths. The Links can also carry each other to "totem" three high, which was used in both solving puzzles and in combat. It was fun to work as a team to figure out how to solve puzzles and also taking down a boss as a group that had to work together.
The only downside is that I was told that you can either play by yourself and control the other Links, or with two other players. You cannot play two player in any way, which was disappointing because I was looking forward to playing this with Brittany.
Rise of the Tomb Raider
While still very similar to the first game, what I played of Rise of the Tomb Raider lead me to believe that there will be a much bigger focus on actually raiding tombs this time. The demo had me in a ancient tomb exploring my way through. In fact, there was no combat until the very end, and it was only very briefly. I decoded messages on murals and Lara actually learned some greek (a meter popped up indicating my language learning progress) which I later used to solve puzzles. I hope that this wasn’t just for the demo, and the actual game will focus as heavily like this, because what I played was really enjoyable.
While still very similar to the first game, what I played of Rise of the Tomb Raider lead me to believe that there will be a much bigger focus on actually raiding tombs this time. The demo had me in a ancient tomb exploring my way through. In fact, there was no combat until the very end, and it was only very briefly. I decoded messages on murals and Lara actually learned some greek (a meter popped up indicating my language learning progress) which I later used to solve puzzles. I hope that this wasn’t just for the demo, and the actual game will focus as heavily like this, because what I played was really enjoyable.
Plants vs. Zombies: Garden Warfare 2
We weren't initially interested in Plants vs. Zombies: Garden Warfare 2. However, there was no line when we passed by so we decided to jump in. We were glad that we did. We played a team of zombies in a sort of horde mode against NPC plants. We were tasked with defending a giant tombstone as wave after wave of plant attacked. I played a pirate with abilities such as summoning a cannon and a bird that can bomb things, and Brittany played a superhero zombie that was flying around punching everything in sight. The game was fun and lighthearted, and was more enjoyable than expected.
We weren't initially interested in Plants vs. Zombies: Garden Warfare 2. However, there was no line when we passed by so we decided to jump in. We were glad that we did. We played a team of zombies in a sort of horde mode against NPC plants. We were tasked with defending a giant tombstone as wave after wave of plant attacked. I played a pirate with abilities such as summoning a cannon and a bird that can bomb things, and Brittany played a superhero zombie that was flying around punching everything in sight. The game was fun and lighthearted, and was more enjoyable than expected.
Ray’s the Dead
Ray's the Dead was an interesting indie game tucked away in the Sony booth. You play as a 2D zombie walking around a 3D environment. There are humans who you can kill, and then raise as zombies themselves. Eventually you are managing a horde of zombies to solve puzzles and fight enemies, commanding them in real-time to complete tasks. It was a fun little game with unique mechanics that I want to see more of.
Ray's the Dead was an interesting indie game tucked away in the Sony booth. You play as a 2D zombie walking around a 3D environment. There are humans who you can kill, and then raise as zombies themselves. Eventually you are managing a horde of zombies to solve puzzles and fight enemies, commanding them in real-time to complete tasks. It was a fun little game with unique mechanics that I want to see more of.
Stories: The Hidden Path
Stories: The Hidden Path was another unexpected Sony indie surprise. A top down action RPG, Stories' main focus was narrative thread and decision making. The game starts with some well voice acted story, and then you get to make one of three decisions on what to do next. This impacts the level you go to, and also the story, as things you neglect can affect the story in different ways. The combat was fun and responsive and the story was interesting. It seems like the type of game you can play multiple times to see different outcomes to different decisions. It was one of my favorite games of the show.
Stories: The Hidden Path was another unexpected Sony indie surprise. A top down action RPG, Stories' main focus was narrative thread and decision making. The game starts with some well voice acted story, and then you get to make one of three decisions on what to do next. This impacts the level you go to, and also the story, as things you neglect can affect the story in different ways. The combat was fun and responsive and the story was interesting. It seems like the type of game you can play multiple times to see different outcomes to different decisions. It was one of my favorite games of the show.
Masquerada: Songs and Shadows
Masquerada: Songs and Shadows played a lot like old school western RPGs like Baulder's Gate and Neverwinter Nights. The game was themed with a very renaissance Italian flair, and characters were all wearing fancy party masks. The story was an intriguing mystery about supernatural forces, and was very well voice acted. The art was also incredible. If you are looking to scratch that old school itch, I'd check out Masquerada.
Masquerada: Songs and Shadows played a lot like old school western RPGs like Baulder's Gate and Neverwinter Nights. The game was themed with a very renaissance Italian flair, and characters were all wearing fancy party masks. The story was an intriguing mystery about supernatural forces, and was very well voice acted. The art was also incredible. If you are looking to scratch that old school itch, I'd check out Masquerada.
Donkey Kong Jr.
Sucks.
