A Cloudbuilt Review - I Try To Wall Run, I Fall, I Die... Rinse, Repeat

Written By: Tyler
Platform Played On: PC

Rating: 7.5/10
Verdict: Cloudbuilt is at its best when it's letting you do the crazy platforming that it promises. There are little issues that keep me from enjoying it more, but anybody who likes hard games and Mirror's Edge inspired parkour should check it out.


Cloudbuilt was born into existence whilst promising two things: it was going to be hard with crazy, fast and clever platforming. The good news is that Cloudbuilt basically delivers on its premise. The bad news is, sometimes it's not in the best way.

In Cloudbuilt you play as a female -- and to the games credit, it's like Remember Me in the sense that you're a girl but ultimately you're just a person -- who doesn't know why her body is in a room. Every time you press the E key while standing above her body, you are transported to a new level and that's where the game gets intense.

The game is described as Sonic meets Mirror's Edge by every preview I've ever seen and that's an apt description. Take the speed from Sonic and the parkour elements from Mirror's Edge, throw in a healthy dosage of Dark Souls difficulty, and you have Cloudbuilt. You run fast and can run across walls, you have a jetpack that allows you to jump more than once, and you have a gun. You get planted at the beginning of the level and due to clever level design, you can pick one of a few different ways to get to the end of the level.

The fast-paced runner-style platforming is intriguing and is usually a lot of fun. Running up a wall, jumping to another wall and running up that is invigorating and thrilling... it's an event that gets the blood pumping. Running and then doing a massive jump, using your jetpack, is a good time. There are a lot of things you can do in this game that make it a game worth playing, and since the levels offer you different ways to reach your destination, it pays to experiment on what path works the best for you. I imagine seeing people who are great at this game will be an experience in itself because it's one of those types of games that give you a genuine feeling of satisfaction when you reach the end of each stage.

A big part of that is because the game is really hard. Unless you're a natural at this kind of thing -- and even then -- you will die a lot. You will fall to your death, only to start again... trying to perfect that perfect run through a level. Once I finally finished a level, I was left feeling like I actually accomplished something, which is an element that a lot of games lack because most games are fairly easy (on Normal). The normal in this game is frustration.

Some people love this kind of thing. People play Dark Souls for a reason, though I'd argue -- in my limited experience with that series -- that Dark Souls is better designed. I'm going to be honest here, but I don't actually love really hard games. I don't know if it's because I grew up in the NES era where a lot of games were hard and I feel like I already "did my time," or if it's just because I like to complete a game and see the story and whatnot. Maybe it's a mixture of both. Since reviews are a personal opinion, this accounts for why I didn't give the game a slightly higher score. I enjoy the game quite a bit, but I had to throw this out there because I did drop the score a teensy-weensy bit because of it.

However, the game isn't without flaws. As fun as the parkour elements are, it also suffers from the same thing that Mirror's Edge did (though I'd also argue that Mirror's Edge is a better game). I don't know why the game had guns. Most of the time the gunplay in this is just an annoyance and it actually badly affects the flow of the game. Cloudbuilt is supposed to be fast, and when you get something right, progressing through a stage is a fluid, beautiful act. Including a gun and enemies that actually corrupt that flow was a bad move. The emphasis should be on the platforming, and for the most part it is, but this issue exists.

For example, guns can shoot you from across the stage. I'm not kidding. You're not supposed to look back in this game because the genre itself is forward forward forward, but you could be standing there planning your next move and you get shot from a gun that you passed a while back. Some may argue that it keeps you on your toes, I say it's just cheap difficulty. The game is hard enough without these tricks. That's just one example, but there are aspects of the game that take you out of it. When Mirror's Edge slows the game down, it cheapens the experience. The same can be said about Cloudbuilt. I'm not against enemies being in the game, but they weren't always implemented correctly.

There are other issues too. Sometimes the game doesn't do what I want it to do, meaning I may try to jump across to another wall and it doesn't do it. I hit the wall then fall to my death. It doesn't happen a lot but it did happen a few times. It wouldn't even be worth mentioning if it weren't for the fact that the checkpoints are so few and far between that dying is traumatic. It's frustrating to be on a good run, hit the wall and not have it register and just fall to your death... only to start from the beginning because there wasn't a checkpoint anywhere near where you are. At the beginning of the game it seemed to have a good amount of checkpoints but as it went on they became more scarce. Dying because I suck is one thing, dying because the game doesn't work is another.

Don't look for any upgrade systems here, because Cloudbuilt gives you all the tools you need to succeed right from the beginning. This was an interesting move in this day and age because so many games base their accomplishments on upgrade systems. The upgrade here is the skills that you develop as you play the game.

The game is pretty. I have to give props because they do the cell-shaded thing well. This particular style is not one we see a lot of, even today despite the popularity of games like Borderlands, so it's always refreshing to see it done well. The environments are detailed, whether it's the way the rain beats down on you or looking off into the distance and seeing the rest of the level. I don't know if it'll be a nominee for Best Visuals when I do my awards at the end of the year, but I'll definitely consider it.

The music is also pretty, particularly when you're in the main room in between missions. I would sit there and listen to it for a few minutes once in a while. The music has a retro feel, and when done well (like in Cloudbuilt) that can be really appealing.


The story is vague and a mystery, and slowly unfolds in between missions. I don't think just standing in a small room and listening to someone monologue is the best way to present a plot, but this is a problem with games as a whole. I've criticized games like Haze for this kind of thing because it's really just not that entertaining standing in place while people talk all the time. A little bit is fine, but some games go overboard. Luckily Cloudbuilt has an interesting story, so it's easy to forgive it.

But really, you come here for the platforming, and like I've said, Cloudbuilt succeeds for the most part. It's interesting that we've gotten a game like this and TITANFALL in quick succession. Is this an indication of where games are going?

Cloudbuilt is a fun game. It's flawed, but that feeling you get when you finally beat a level you've been attempting for an hour is worth the price of admission alone. The small team that developed this should be proud of themselves, and anybody who wants a challenge should try this out.

Aw Look At the Cute Cat Suit - A Super Mario 3D World Review

Written By: Tyler Selig

Rating: 9.5/10

Verdict: Super Mario 3D World doesn’t re-invent Mario, but embraces everything that brought Mario to the dance. That -- and some really clever and fun level design – makes this one of the best Mario games ever.

          

               I have a long history with Mario, much like I’m sure a lot of “old school” gamers do. I remember the NES packaged with the first solo Mario game. I remember Donkey Kong. I remember playing Mario pretty religiously through my youth, to the point where I would dream of playing Mario 3. I would sneak over to my older brother’s room, where the NES was, and play it at five in the morning. For some reason he still likes me.

                But the thing is, as much as I love Mario and I honestly feel no childhood is complete without Mario, I don’t follow Mario as much as I should. There are amazing installments that I just haven’t played, such as Galaxy. I hadn’t even played Super Mario 3D Land, which this is a sequel to. I generally just for a while without playing any of the games and then one day I think, “I should play the latest Mario.” So that means I miss some. But there was no way I was going to miss this one. It’s also because of this that I may not catch every reference to older games so forgive me if I act like something is new when it isn’t.

                And I’m so glad I didn’t choose to ignore it, because it’s easily within the top three of all Mario games for me. Maybe it’s blasphemy that Super Mario 64 isn’t in my top three, but Super Mario 3D World joins the likes of Super Mario World and Mario 3, with honourable mention to Mario 2 and yes, Super Mario 64.

                Nintendo didn’t give us a completely new experience, but instead decided to jam everything Mario into one title. There are references to the other games all over the place, and while that may not sound as appealing to some people – considering some people hate the fact that Nintendo “milks” the Mario franchise – as it does others, it’s a positive in my book, because not only did they show old fans love, but they did include some awesome ideas like the cat suit. Who doesn’t love the cat suit, with how adorable the characters look walking around on all fours? Not to mention that you need it to get a fair share of the stars and whatnot in the game.

                Mario will always have that Mario charm. It’s undeniable, and it’s one of the reasons he is so loved in this world. Mario is a legend and it’s hard to deny that. Some Nintendo haters like to play Mario down like he’s overrated, but I think they’d be overjoyed if Nintendo stopped making consoles and just made games for their system of choice.

                Having so many Mario games can be a little much if they don’t do anything great with the IP, but when the Mario games are on point, they’re the best platformers of their kind in the entire world. Super Mario 3D World is on point with fascinating and genius level design that offers different and often intense experiences in each world.

                Super Mario 3D World does a glorious job of giving you classic platforming but Nintendo threw in levels that make you sit back and just say, “Wow, that was cool.” An example of this are the music based levels which provide a nice break and something refreshing. The game offers a lot of variety, be it speed runs for stars, the musical blocks, the racing levels or just the way they switch everything up. Instead of letting you feel safe and allowing everything to seem familiar, even late in the game they include things that you haven’t yet seen in the game. You never really know what you’re going to get from level to level. From beginning to end, it’s exciting, and they top it all off by having an intense and amazing final level/boss battle. It’s because of this blend of new and old, and this mixture, that the game is one of the most fun games of the year.

                I have to gush a little over the music because it’s tremendous. Yes, there are re-workings of old songs, and they are incredible. There are new tunes, and they are just as good. Even from the main menu, the music just works and puts you in the mood. My personal favourite is the Ghost House music, which is tragic and eerie, like y’know, a Ghost House should be. I know this is a short paragraph because I don’t want to go into every single song and all the intricacies, but the soundtrack is so, so good.

The game is extremely polished, and even the little things add to the experience. I know that the way it uses community, with the drawn pictures and whatnot, isn’t a new thing. It was in the last Wii U Mario game, and I loved it then like I love it now. It’s a joy seeing Miis standing around to “talk” to and having them present you with whatever the player wanted to draw. Then there are the Ghost Miis that are in levels if you go back and revisit them, which allow you to see how other people played the game. My friend made fun of my Mario skills on Facebook randomly one day.

It’s a small, but nice little touch, that the music muffles when you’re in water. It isn’t something that should get a lot of attention but it’s neat that it’s there.

                Or the fact that Nintendo does an outstanding job of balancing difficulty. Some levels are just hard. Some levels only get hard when you want to get all three stars. If you’re a completionist then I’m sure there will be moments that have you pulling your hair out. However, Nintendo is for the children (to quote ODB), and if you are having a difficult time getting through a level, they’ll throw you a bone and give you a power-up that makes you invincible, except for falling in holes.

Which brings me to the multiplayer. It’s not original, but it’s back. You play as one of four characters (it makes me happy that at one point Mario 2 was seen as the bastard son, but now the characters are openly influenced by that one in particular), and playing with a friend or three makes the game significantly harder. But it’s fun. The game somehow makes you want to work together but be competitive. Sure, you want everyone to get through because it eats up lives if one of you die, but at the same time, you need to fight for points (in which you get a crown no less), and it ends up becoming a matter of “screw you, I’m out,” as you watch your friend fall to his death. Some have criticized the camera, but it was never a huge problem for me. Maybe a minor issue here and there, but nothing worth kicking up a stink about.

Another negative I’ve seen in reviews is that the game doesn’t use the Gamepad as well as it should. I get the argument… Mario is a killer app and you would think they would have used Mario to show what the Wii U is capable of. They don’t really do this, outside of a few levels here and there where you use the touch-screen or blow into it. I suppose if you look at it that way, it’s a little disappointing. I think it’s more that they are smart enough not to force something in that doesn’t work. I don’t think Mario is the game to show that off. I think a Zelda or a Metroid is more likely to do so. I see the brief usage of the features on the gamepad as more of a welcome swerve here and there.

Again, it’s the care that they put into the whole experience that makes Nintendo the developers that they are. At their best, and I know I sound like a fanboy, they understand games perfectly. I can’t help it, once in a while something comes along that just has me smiling the whole time (like the most recent Muppets movie), so I can’t help but say it’s one of the best games of the year.

PS4 Launch Party - I Don't Have A Clever Title, So Here's A Knack Review

Written By: Tyler Selig

               

Rating: 5.5/10

Verdict: Knack suffers from a lack of real innovation, but if you’re a fan of the genre, it’s also not a terrible game. It’s average in almost every way, but average does not mean bad. Still, there was a great premise here that should have been explored with more depth.

            Knack isn’t a game I would normally be keen on playing. It only looked like a decent platformer, mostly forgettable but not boring, yet I was a little eager to play it only because it is an exclusive PS4 launch title. My original prediction of what the game would offer ended up being correct, and I don’t think it’s an unpopular opinion. Knack is fun, and due to it being one of the only exclusives on a new console, it’s a “Should-Play.” Years down the road I can’t see anybody playing it. I don’t even think it’ll go down as an underrated game, or overlooked, but you never know I suppose.

                You play as Knack, a monster-thing created by a doctor by using relics. Because you are awesome, you can grow or shrink, depending on how many relics you have. It’s a cool idea, and at its core Knack is a neat concept done unimpressively. It’s a shame because there are some interesting things they could do with the character Knack that they refused to do. Instead of crafting a memorable game, they didn’t reach the potential of the idea, and instead gave us an average character platformer.

                The main problem is that the levels just aren’t that fun. They aren’t boring, but you just kind of go through the motions the entire time. The levels are linear, and the platforming – outside of a few sections – is wholly unimpressive and predictable. You run, stop, hit a couple enemies, move on, jump a little, beat up a few people, move on. That’s the entire game.

                That wouldn’t even be a bad thing if the mechanics were solid. While actually hitting enemies is satisfying enough (the slow-mo on final punches adds some oomph), it’s just very limited it what you can do. You can do a jumping attack, or punch. You just punch with the same combo over and over and over and over. There really isn’t much in the way of variety. There are power-ups that you can get, but it’s such a long, drawn out process that you may find yourself completing your first one (as each power-up has multiple things you have to find in order to get it) farther into the game than you would like.
            Even when they attempt to mix things up a bit, by giving you different Knacks like "Stealth Knack," it's just not enough. For example, Stealth Knack is only used to get past beams, and all you do is press a button to activate him. You can't actually sneak past the enemies, so what's the point? Splint Cell this section is not.

The developers wanted it to be simplistic and accessible, which I get, yet the game is actually pretty difficult. I hate to admit it but I died quite often while playing. Aside from the fact that making a challenging game sort-of shits in the face of making a game accessible, it’s not how hard the game is that makes it a tough slug sometimes. If you die, there just isn’t much incentive to play through the same mediocre parts again and again, since the checkpoints usually will put you back a fair amount (though the checkpoints are by no means in terrible positions). It’s for that reason that Knack sometimes feels like a tough slog.

So by now you may be wondering, why is this a 5.5 if most of it is average? Well that’s the thing… so many people view a 5 as a bad rating, but I literally view it as average. Mediocre. Decent. Okay. Whatever you want to say. I give it a .5 because even though the attempts at humour don’t really work, and the game adds nothing new to the action-platformer canon, the visual style is pretty.

It doesn’t show you the technical brilliance of the PS4, because the art-style chosen doesn’t really require that. It’s not photo-realistic, it’s not attempting to be. I liken the visuals to a Pixar movie. In fact I often wondered what it would be like if you just gave Knack to Pixar to begin with and made it a movie instead, because there is a charming story that you could tell here that they didn’t in the game. It’s cute, the visuals are fitting, it’s colourful and the environments aren’t fantastic by any means, but they’re done well.

This game doesn’t just remind me of Pixar. If you spend any time at all with it, you’ll see similarities with Ratchet & Clank and Crash Bandicoot. At first I felt it was a bit of a rip-off, but then after actually researching the developers, I was shown that the lead designer worked on those games, among others, and has a wonderful legacy, especially within this genre. Knowing that disappoints me a little.

I read a comment on either Gamespot or IGN (you’ll notice I often mention them because they are two of the four game sites I check out on a regular basis), where someone said that this game is unfairly crapped on. This person went on to say that if this was released during the Playstation 1 days, it would get an 8 or higher. Good point. I agree a little.

If we weren’t so familiar with this genre, Knack would seem more innovative and wonderful than it does now. I can’t really argue that because someone who has played games for twenty-plus years is harder to impress than someone who just started.

However, often nostalgia gets in the way of quality. There are way too many games that I go back and play and they just aren’t as fun as they used to be. Not because games have moved on, but because the game design just wasn’t all there. There’s a reason old Mario games are still fun today despite how far we’ve come. There’s a reason a game like Spyro or Crash Bandicoot remains fun… it’s because the mechanics are strong. It’s because the level design is interesting. Knack lacks any degree of importance when it comes to these things, and instead offers an all right experience.

So if you’re looking for a game for your PS4, by all means, go ahead and play this. It offers a 10 hour or so campaign, and though I never played the co-op, I’m sure that would be enjoyable as well. But this will not stand the test of time, and it will not go down as anything other than a decent launch title, the type of game you expect when a system first comes out.  That’s my opinion, at least. It’s also my blog!