A Valley Without Wind Review, part 2

Quests are just as predictable. Continents are home to terrible bosses who hold the citizenry as if in a police state, and your main duty is to kill them all. So you travel through luminescent caverns and dusty hovels searching for foes who could offer serious opposition, only to find bigger versions of the same pushovers you've already murdered by the dozens. Sure, bosses may take 20 hits to kill rather than four, but their slow-moving attacks are so easy to dodge that you rarely feel as if your life is in danger. Difficulty does surface when you venture to higher-level areas, though it doesn't raise high enough to make you use the many tools you acquire. You jump around to avoid attacks, place platforms to strike from above, and tap away with your magical spells, all while keeping your life bar in an almost full state.



Although quests rarely demand more of you than killing creeping enemies, the objectives offer some variety. One quest involves killing anachronistic creatures while keeping those who belong in the time period alive. Trying to figure out which ghoulie is thematically correct and which isn't takes a bit of guesswork, but it's a silly diversion from your normal task of killing everything that moves. In another mission, meteors rain down from the sky, and you have to protect crates at ground level. Running from one pile of precious crates to another, staving off attacks from above while avoiding getting hit, adds some intensity to the stale encounters that make up the majority of your adventure. Although neither of these missions is great, they provide a hint of diversity to keep you pushing along, striving to find an entertaining activity amid the dreary repetition.

It doesn't become apparent how shallow this game is until many hours into your journey. This is in part because of the tutorial in the beginning that makes you think that every bit of minutia is important, but it's also because the core action is enjoyable. Yes, enemies rarely offer a challenge, but there's inherent enjoyment in exploring caves for hidden loot and shooting eagles out of the sky. It's easy to sink hours into this adventure in a single cavern. Unexplored areas seem to exist through every door you enter, so you dutifully roam from one section to another, collecting treasure while slaying any beast who bares its teeth. There's a dreamy rhythm where hours pass by in a heartbeat, so though there's little tangible progress, you collect enough odds and ends to give you a purpose.

And there are so many collectibles that those compelled by shiny objects can't keep themselves from scouring every unchecked cranny. Glowing orbs imbue your character with extra power. Leveling up your health, power, and magic gives you tangible rewards and makes killing enemies that much easier. These stats are the only thing you lose when you perish, and though it's a setback, it's not that big of a hurdle to overcome. Upgrade orbs are plentiful, so you can regain your might rather quickly. Other collectibles are permanent. Accessories give you new abilities, such as a double jump or a light-emitting torso, and though these additions aren't drastic, they're big enough to keep you focused. It's only after a dozen or so hours of going on the same quests with the same limited upgrades that you realize that A Valley Without Wind isn't giving adequate compensation for all your hard work.



The lack of interesting rewards is compounded by rambling level design. A Valley Without Wind is procedurally generated, so the world is different whenever you start a new adventure. In theory, this adds limitless replay value because no two journeys are alike. In reality, the sprawling levels lack the diversity and intricacies that could have made them fun to explore. Places look so similar that it's easy to get lost, and the poorly designed map adds to this burden. Finding your way out of a cave is no easy task, even using the warp points, so you wander from one similar-looking environment to the next, until you contemplate sacrificing your character's life just so you can leave this stage before your sanity flees.

For those lonely travelers who want a heroic pal by their side, cooperative multiplayer gives you the option to team up with other glyphbearers. Unfortunately, it's tricky to find where other players are in the massive world, so joining forces with a friend isn't as seamless as you might expect. But multiplayer is just one more option in a game that's already overflowing with choice. The problem lies not in how many things you can do, but in how compelling they are, and this game comes up well short in that regard. A Valley Without Wind is a time sink in all the wrong ways, a grind without reward.


By Tom Mc Shea

A Valley Without Wind Review

After a full day of slaying monsters, plundering caverns, helping villagers, and performing the various deeds of a hero, you retire to a local settlement to see what your hard work has wrought. Perusing your inventory, you find an assortment of materials and items gathered from across the countryside. It's a modest windfall considering the hours of effort logged, and the few enhancements have such a nominal impact that you barely notice their effects. Sadly, the manner by which you acquired these slight rewards is a blur of repetitive sequences. Malevolent orbs and stalking robots crashed by the dozens at your feet, with no major battles punctuating these encounters. And so goes A Valley Without Wind, a mechanically sound game that fails to deliver the proper motivation to keep you grinding through this tiresome adventure.



The world is in ruins. Monsters from across time and space have been thrust together, and all wish to perform acts of harm on the peaceful citizens of Environ. Enter the glyphbearers. These mysterious warriors are sworn to protect their decaying realm. Perma-death ensures that each hero has but one life to give for his land, so when your last point of health fades into the ether, your spirit flies from the dying glyphbearer on the ground to a stronger person waiting in the wings. It's a concept that should keep battles intense, because one false move could mean the end of the character you spent so much time developing. But because you keep most of your possessions after you pass away, and the threats are usually so slight as to be rendered inconsequential, this seemingly punishing death system amounts to little more than a slap on the wrist when you succumb to a great beast.

Though a perfunctory story outlines the basic plot of A Valley Without Wind, the details unfold through your journey. Wild rhinoceroses and screaming eagles tear through abandoned homes, giving you a glimpse of the city as it used to be before chaos moved in. Disorder rules the various buildings you enter. Cracked walls and destroyed rooms are constant reminders of the decay creeping over the land, but it's the oppressive desolation that hits the hardest. Kitchens, bathrooms, and other recognizable rooms fill buildings, though they remain empty. No longer can cooks be found stewing broth or their patrons dining, and loneliness specific to wide-open rooms devoid of life hammers home how horrible things have gone in Environ.

A Valley Without Wind is a side-scrolling platformer with higher aspirations than running and jumping. There's material to gather, errands to run, and bosses to hunt down, and the procedurally generated world lets you go about these various tasks in whatever manner you wish. Open-ended objectives give you the freedom to focus on whatever aspect most catches your eye, so if you're intent on crafting more powerful spells or stalking bosses, there's nothing stopping you from diving right in. Such flexibility sounds overwhelming, and the early moments do require you to read pages of instructions to get a handle on what lies ahead. But once you get the basics down, it's so straightforward that you wonder how you could ever have been confused. Freedom is no substitute for depth, and it's woefully apparent once the training wheels come off just how shallow this valley is.



Combat commits the transgression of having bountiful options rather than genuine depth. Spells that span every elemental discipline you can imagine fill your inventory, making you think that you have to use each of these powers to attack the various enemies who confront you. So you test the ice and entropy spells, see how your earth-based attack feels, practice switching from light to fire magic on the fly, and make sure all of these spells are in easy reach in the heat of combat. Then an enemy rushes toward you and all of that preperation become inconsequential. Using just two or three spells (of the dozens you unlock), you tear through almost every enemy with ease. Just hover your mouse on a foe, cast your might by clicking, and watch it perish before your eyes. Sometimes, a warning that your enemies are immune to that element appears, and then you just switch to your backup spell and vanquish them in a flash. With little opposition, you certainly feel like the hero Environ needs, though your scrap-paper enemies topple so easily that any satisfaction is stripped away.

By Tom Mc Shea

LucasArts wanted Star Wars: Battlefront III to fail, says dev

Several years ago, the Star Wars: Battlefront series had a third game in the works at TimeSplitters studio Free Radical Design, but the project--and soon thereafter the developer itself--was killed by LucasArts. That's just one of the unpleasant allegations made by former Free Radical developers in a Eurogamer feature recapping the studio's entire history.

From mid-2006 through early 2008, Free Radical was working for LucasArts on a new installment in the third-person shooter take on the Star Wars universe. Studio co-founder David Doak told the site things went well with the project until a management change at LucasArts led the publisher to make deep cuts and cancel projects.

"[W]e went from talking to people who were passionate about making games to talking to psychopaths who insisted on having an unpleasant lawyer in the room," Doak said.

Free Radical audio director Graeme Norgate said LucasArts's new management essentially sabotaged the Battlefront III project and the studio, withholding milestone payments for months as they contested every detail of what Free Radical was obligated to deliver in order.

"LucasArts hadn't paid us for six months," Norgate said, "and were refusing to pass a milestone so we would limp along until the money finally ran out. They knew what they were doing, and six months of free work to pass on to Rebellion wasn't to be sniffed at." (Rebellion did not end up finishing the project, although some of Free Radical's work was passed on to the studio.)

Doak said Free Radical's contract had provisions that should have protected the studio, but they didn't matter because they would not be able to afford the court costs to win the protracted legal battle with LucasArts necessary to collect on those clauses.

"My role at Free Radical meant that I was simultaneously involved in these unpleasant 'high level' discussions with psychopaths who wanted to destroy us, and then the next day sitting with our dev staff at their desks trying to boost people's morale," Doak said. "Helping them to pass milestones that I knew would subsequently be manipulated to cause them to fail. It was the most depressing and pointless thing that I have ever been involved in. The dream job which I once loved had become a nightmarish torture."

Free Radical entered administration in late 2008, with part of the studio acquired by Crytek and renamed Crytek UK in February of 2009. Doak has since left game development entirely.

By Brendan Sinclair

Revelations 2012 Review

The end of the world has arrived, and things are looking grim.

Ancient Mayans swarm sacred temples, running up and down walls as if the laws of gravity have been repealed. Boulders pop into existence and fall to the ground, squishing you underneath. Your friends fall down shafts to their deaths, as they have somehow become incapable of using ladders. These and other horrors await you in Revelations 2012, an incompetent co-op shooter that tries to ape Left 4 Dead but gets almost nothing right. If this ridiculous game actually represents the near future, we might as well just give up now.



The incompetence begins with the cooperative campaigns. You join up to three others to fight your way through hordes of natives in loincloths and witches zapping you with magical green plasma. In the likely event you don't find anyone to play with, AI cronies fill in. But these computer-controlled morons have apparently lost their brains in the Mayan apocalypse and are incapable of behaving in any sensible manner. They can't pick up the healing or ammo items enemies drop on the ground. They can't use secondary fire, are unaware of deadly booby traps, and sometimes stand around doing nothing. Even on easy difficulty, you might be unable to get past the second of five campaigns: the AI easily gives up the ghost, and you end up fighting a miniboss that renders you unable to move and shoot with every ground pound.

You might be lucky enough to have friends who have a billion more brain cells than these cretins, but they won't remain friends for long if you force them to wade through this mess. Everyone gets the same mystic weapon that can morph into different forms: magical sniper rifle, magical peashooter, and magical shotgun. But regardless of what form you use, there's no sense of power. The audio is atrocious: water pistols sound more powerful than your weapon's mild peeps and clicks. When you kill foes, their skin melts away and their skeletons dissipate, which is a neat little effect. Another nice touch: sometimes your enemies lose limbs and pull their legless torsos along. But there are no animations to indicate impact; you just fire piddly lasers or swipe at your attackers until they fall down dead.

You encounter dozens and dozens of ancient dudes as you roam about slapdash environments that have no sense of design or pacing. You run around looking for levers to activate, grab some skulls, encounter a final boss, and everything is done. And every moment is laughably bad. The tribal hordes behave in the oddest ways. They climb up poles and columns for no apparent reason, defying physics as we understand them. They jump on top of swinging traps and get deposited on an AI companion's head. They even fall from above and get stuck midair, their legs treading ceaselessly as if in contact with the ground.

The "gotcha" traps are insane. A boulder rolls down a hill from behind, or a spiked log suddenly swings toward you, but there is no audiovisual cue indicating such an occurrence is possible. A dense field makes it impossible to see what you're shooting at. In one area, you navigate a trap of spears that move to and fro, but the spears aren't spaced or timed properly, and are not collision-enabled; it's impossible to get through undamaged. You deal with a set of rising and falling columns immediately afterward, where another legion attacks you in a dramatically tiny space. It's all so depressingly horrible.

All the while, your companions spout occasional quips, Left 4 Dead style, but have no discernible personalities aside from "obnoxious twerp," and have nothing interesting to say. (Endless profanity doesn't make for fascinating characters.) There isn't even anything interesting to look at in all this mess. You move from boring tan corridors to jungle clearings with low-polygon bushes. Light sources are static, textures are low resolution, and shadows are often nonexistent. There's no sense of art direction. Trees, statues, and sad brown flowers look randomly placed, as if someone just threw these objects into the level without any consideration of an overall aesthetic.

Revelations 2012 doesn't skimp on content, with five campaigns of multiple levels each, and several competitive modes, though your chances of finding a competitive match are even lower than finding a cooperative one. One of these modes could have been great: Battlegrounds. Conceptually, it's a mix of first-person shooter, real-time strategy, and online battle arena. Players on each of two teams must take down defensive towers as they push toward the opposing team's base and face a final boss. But they also command respawning minions, ordering them to battle opposing forces and defend key areas.

It's a cool idea utterly destroyed by execution problems. Minions get stuck trying to cross bridges and won't move. On one map, you use glowing portals to teleport into your enemy's base, but huge minion collisions can turn the battle into a horrible joke. But hey--if you get bored during the resulting stalemates on this map, you can also hit a key and watch your character dance a dumb jig from a third-person perspective. Heck, you can even shoot stuff while you do it, all while your own avatar performs animations that have nothing to do with shooting.

Perhaps Revelations 2012 is a sign of the times. If so, pray hard to the deity of your choice, because the end is nigh. Whatever you do, don't waste your precious last moments playing this horrendous shooter.

By Kevin VanOrd

Samsung Galaxy S III: disappointment, gimmicks, or good ideas?

We had planned to do this writeup yesterday, but everything felt too fresh. The Samsung Galaxy S III announcement created a tidal wave of news and we didn't want to just post a knee-jerk analysis of what had been announced, because there was quite a lot of information unpacked at Samsung's London event. The thing is that it didn't all hit solidly.

The disappointments

Of course, we have to keep in mind that the expectations were pretty high for the Galaxy S III announcement, and carriers had tried to mitigate those expectations to a certain extent, even saying that "It'll be like the iPhone 4S was to the 4," which turned out to be the most prophetic information we ever saw during the rumor rampage, even though it may have slipped through the cracks. As far as the hardware, this is definitely much more of an incremental update, which is a bit disappointing, but probably what we should have expected.

Sure, the international version will have a quad-core processor, but that really just sounds good on paper, because in the actual benchmarks that we saw, the dual-core Snapdragon that is expected to be in the US version (and currently in the HTC One X) posted pretty close numbers on Quadrant and actually beat out the quad-core Exynos on a few tests. The screen is essentially the same as that we've seen on the Galaxy Nexus, with the same PenTile matrix, just .2" larger (and without on-screen buttons, which will add even more usable space.) Aside from those two features, all of the other additions are software. And, in the software we get to the usual array of gimmicks and good ideas.

Before we get to the gimmicks though, we want to note one overall disappointment with the Galaxy S III announcement: Samsung almost completely avoided the fact that this is an Android device. Everything in the presentation was made out to be an amazing feature that is only available on this Samsung device. We understand that's how marketing works, but it's still annoying. S Voice leverages the power of the Android voice command service, but adds value in natural language recognition. The Galaxy S III camera has zero shutter lag, but that is a feature of Android 4.0, not that phone. S Beam is simply Android Beam with the addition of WiFi Direct for larger file transfer (admittedly Samsung did at least mention Android Beam on that one.) And, we're pretty sure that Smart Stay wouldn't have been as easy to implement without the built-in facial recognition of Android 4.0.

All we're saying is credit where it's due. Samsung has built quite an empire on Android, so it would be nice to see a bit more appreciation. We won't even get into how TouchWiz completely hides the UI improvements of Android 4.0, because that's a general disappointment with manufacturer UIs, and not one specific to Samsung. Anyway, on to the gimmicks!

The gimmicks

Let's not fool ourselves, every successful matured platform around has its share of gimmicks, which we define as features that make you say "wow", but don't really add a lot as far as function or usability. If you're showing off what your phone can do, you'll probably use these "features", and they will be the same things that will get you to drop down money in a store, but they don't really help your day to day life all that much.

Apple has FaceTime and Siri, both of which seem cool, but either aren't used all that much (FaceTime) or have limited benefits when the feature works (Siri). Google brought in Face Unlock to be its gimmick/cool feature of Ice Cream Sandwich. HTC has its blinged out Sense UI. And with the Galaxy S III, Samsung jumped on the gimmick train full force, and showed its own hypocrisy a bit.

The trouble is that Samsung uses every chance it gets to put down Apple, and even takes shots at Apple followers, but the truth is that Samsung would love nothing more than to be Apple and have that kind of devoted following. And, while Samsung did come up with some novel and innovative ideas with the Galaxy S III, the first feature talked about was S Voice, which is the worst kind of gimmick, because it's really just trying to be better than the Apple version, which doesn't work all that well in the first place.

Think about it, when S Voice was shown off in the announcement, as well as in our hands-on demo, there was a noticeable delay before it either launched the camera app or gave the weather. This is Android we're talking about, not iOS. You don't need to ask for the weather, you just need to look at your weather widget. And, what is the point of launching an app with your voice if it is faster to simply tap the app icon? The choice is either to start the voice recognition service, then say "I want to take a picture," at which point there will be a delay while the app figures out what you want and launches the camera, or just hit the home button and tap your camera icon.

This is the big issue with Samsung's presentation of S Voice. There is value in it, especially in initiating searches, dictating messages, or perhaps playing a specific song or video (none of which is special to S Voice, since Android has this functionality built-in,) but because Samsung wanted to highlight the natural language addition, the marketing took a hit. S Voice adds value to the stock Android voice command option by adding more natural language support, but in showing off the product, Samsung chose to perform two action that would have been faster without voice command. It would have been far better to say "Play Somebody That I Used to Know", and show how Android gives you the choice to play that through any of the apps available on your device like Spotify, Music, YouTube, etc. That is something that is faster to do via voice, and shows the power of this system over that of the competition, since Siri doesn't yet have those hooks (though Apple has said they will eventually exist).

The new Nature UX is also essentially a gimmick. It may very well make the phone more enjoyable to use, and it may make for an overall pleasant experience, but there is no real function behind it, which makes it a gimmick. Keep in mind here that not all gimmicks are bad things. Gimmicks can be delightful, but the problem is that gimmicks strive for delight rather than usability. However, not all the announcements were bad. Samsung also came out with some solid ideas that we'd love to see expanded through the mobile ecosystem.

The good ideas

The biggest difference between a great idea and a gimmick is that gimmicks are designed so you notice it, while truly great ideas may make your experience better without you ever realizing it. And, that is what Samsung hit with the introduction of Smart Stay. This is a feature that we've all wanted, but never even knew it until now. It is terribly annoying to be reading something or watching something and having to keep reminding the device that you're there by nudging the screen, so it won't go to sleep. So, to have your device be able to know when you're looking and when you aren't and control the screen accordingly is potentially an amazing feature. Obviously, we need to see Smart Stay in practice, but given the facial recognition already built-in to Android 4.0, it seems likely that this feature should work as promised. Additionally, auto-tagging friends in pictures with easy sharing from the gallery is another very good idea built on Android's facial recognition. That is another feature we expect to see more in other devices.

Direct Call is another idea that has a lot of potential, or at least the idea behind it has a lot of potential. Having devices anticipate what you want to do will be a big part of the evolution of smartphones from here on, and a lot of that will be tied to device gestures. We've gotten about as much as we can from touch gestures, now it's about context and how you move your device. Direct Call lets you call the person you're messaging simply by lifting the phone to your ear (and we're hoping this works in various apps like Google Voice, Gmail, Messaging, etc.) HTC added this into Sense a while back by making the ringer volume change whether the phone was placed screen up or down. So, what about the phone automatically launching the camera app if you lift the device into a picture taking position (landscape orientation at eye level, or portrait orientation pointed at the sky (for the ubiquitous "cleavage angle" the ladies love)). Or, your phone could automatically wake up and update various content or launch an app when you pick it up for the first time in the morning. The potential is very intriguing.

Of course wireless charging is also a great idea, but we've been waiting for that, and would have been somewhat disappointed had it not been part of the phone.

Conclusion

Overall, the Samsung Galaxy S III looks like a solid addition to the Android ecosystem. The disappointments were really nothing more than hoping for more than was reasonable, the gimmicks still have their uses or can be ignored fairly easily, and the additions are solid enough that the overall experience should be pretty positive. We like the evolution of TouchWiz, even if it buries the evolution of Android, because at least Samsung is aiming for adding moments of delight to what has been a fairly bland, if candy coated experience. S Voice will have its uses, and its drawbacks, just like every voice command system right now. And, the good ideas are good enough that they can subtly make the device much nicer than you'd expect on first glance.

Verizon shows off changelist for Motorola DROID 3 update

The Motorola DROID 3 was the last DROID in the series to not have LTE connectivity. The handset is underrated with a physical QWERTY that is among the best ever to find its way on a handset and the unit does have dual-core power under the hood. Still, that doesn't mean that the solidly built device couldn't use an update every now and then and Verizon has posted on its website the changelist for the Motorola DROID 3 update currently being soak tested.

The 5.7.905.XT862 update comes in at 230MB and unlike the update for the Motorola DROID X2, this one has a long changelist. Included in the list is a Google security patch for added level of protection. A bug is fixed that used to turn the device on without user interaction. You can now avoid interruption when trying to access an app before storage media is fully mounted on the phone and improvements in power cycles should prevent the phone from rebooting constantly. Additionally, the DROID 3 will no longer lock up and reboot when connected to Bluetooth and HDMI.

Those with the Motorola DROID 3 know how hard it is to use the camera on the phone. Improvements in AutoFocus will help cut the shutter's response time and enhance the quality of pictures taken. The Wireless Alerting System will be aboard the device after the update. The firmware update also lets you use a wired headset without hearing a high pitched noise. For those who travel often, Plus Code dialing has been improved making it easier to dial international calls. Using Bluetooth, playback media can be heard and using the contact widget a call can be made to the appropriate person. When moving apps to the microSD card, shortcuts to the apps will remain, and after updating the contact database from the Messaging App, the Messaging UI will display the latest contact information.

The update will allow you to post and play videos on Facebook and purchased ringtones can now be downloaded, saved and used where appropriate. Contact photos will display properly in Google Voice and VZ Navigator 3D City is now pre-loaded. Finally, the update will fix a problem that required excessive data usage and continuous downloading for VZ Navigator 3D City downloads.

No, the Motorola DROID 3 will most likely not get Android 4.0, but it remains a solid performer and users are just happy to see the manufacturer continue to support it.

source: Verizon

Motorola CLIQ 2 finally gets gingerbread

While everyone remembers the Motorola DROID as being the handset that kicked off Androidmania, it was not the manufacturer's first Android model. That honor belongs to the Motorola CLIQ which was released almost a full month before the game-changing DROID was. The handset was launched with Android 1.5 while the Motorola DROID was the first to have Android 2.0 installed.

About 15 and a half months after the CLIQ was released, Motorola came back with a sequel having the inspired name of the Motorola CLIQ 2. With a much larger screen size (3.7 inches vs. the original's 3.1 inch display) equipped with higher resolution, the sequel still featured a side sliding QWERTY keyboard. The camera remained at 5MP although the sequel had a dual LED flash. The OG CLIQ featured a Qualcomm MSM7201 A 528MHz processor vs. a single-core 1GHz Snapdragon under the hood of the sequel. But perhaps the biggest change was with the OS. The Motorola CLIQ 2 had Froyo, or Android 2.2 running the show which not only was miles and miles away from Android 1.5, but it also allowed CLIQ 2 users to run Adobe Flash and store apps on a microSD card.

Now, Motorola CLIQ 2 owners are moving up the ladder. Android 4.0? Uh, no. But Android 2.3 is finally coming to the Motorola CLIQ 2 and offers improved cursor controls, better battery performance, number and symbol shortcuts and updated calendar options. You can check out the entire (and rather lengthy) changelist by clicking on the sourcelink.

There is some bad news. This is not an OTA update which means you will need a Windows powered PC, a micro USB cable and the Motorola Software Application. Clicking on the sourcelink will bring you to the instructions for downloading the update. And while it doesn't take owners of the Motorola CLIQ 2 all the way to Android 4.0, it should make it feel like a brand new phone once you've completed the installation.

source: Mototola via Phandroid

The Walking Dead: Episode 1 review: The value of people

In the zombie apocalypse, we'll all be human resource managers. We'll need to make harsh critiques on the value of one human against another in a post-apocalyptic scenario. At least, that's what the first episode of Telltale's The Walking Dead adaptation has taught me.

As someone who's mapped out his strategy for the zombie apocalypse countless times, I always told myself I'd keep my humanity; I wouldn't become the monster I was trying to survive. And then I chose to rescue a grown man over a helpless child.

Gallery: The Walking Dead

Continue reading The Walking Dead: Episode 1 review: The value of people

The Walking Dead: Episode 1 review: The value of people originally appeared on Joystiq on Tue, 24 Apr 2012 12:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>