Pinball! Fallout! It's fall!

This week I was excited to find out that my favorite pinball game was getting an update!  PinballFX2 offers a wide array of different tables--fanboy/girl tables of various comic book heroes, TV shows, movies, and video games as well as a number of Zen originals.  The newest version, PinballFX3, looks to add better graphical features and gameplay to the world of pinball.  The best part of it all is that the tables that you owned in FX2 will carryover into FX3!  There are a bunch of new features to keep you flipping those flippers and enjoying some pinball.  Here's what I've observed in a few brief play sessions:

More pinball fun!

1.) They have added a sort of RPG element to the game.  As you play you earn experience which can be used to unlock special perks.  These perks could include things like 30% bonus scoring during multiballs or multipliers that increase faster with each additional level.  You can choose 2 perks as well as unlocking one more powerful boost (I haven't unlocked those yet).

2.) The physics and graphics are improved.  The tables look better and I have yet to experience any weird lagginess which I would occasionally experience in FX2.

3.) Challenge mode offers several unique challenges that increase in difficulty as you master them.  In single ball mode you are challenged to earn the highest score with just that one puny ball, the 5 minute challenge gives you just those few short minutes to score a certain number of points, and the survival challenge pushes you to earn a certain number of points or else it's game over.

4.) New multiplayer and community challenges.  Players can set up their own tournaments and challenges.  There are worldwide leaderboards for all the different modes.  If you're extremely competitive this will definitely interest you.

5.) The release of three new Universal Studios tables.  Fans of the classic movies Back to the Future, Jaws, and E.T.:  The Extra-Terrestrial will be thrilled to have the opportunity to explore these stories in pinball mode.

PinballFX3 is available for free download on Steam.  One thing to be aware of is that ALL the tables you originally purchased for FX2 should show up in your library.  If they are showing as being locked, start FX2 and allow your library to load.  Exit and restart FX3 and all your tables should show as unlocked.  DON'T PANIC AND RE-BUY ALL THE TABLES YOU ALREADY OWN!

Fans of 90's RPG's also have reason to rejoice--the original Fallout is available for FREE until midnight tonight (on Steam).  Fallout in its original form was an amazing turn-based RPG and is a great introduction to the Fallout universe for those who have only seen it in its modern open-world form.  Get it before it's gone!

Now that it's fall and the weather has cooled it's the perfect time for sweaters, pumpkin spice everything (yuck), and more time spent cuddled up with our favorite games.

Slime and Punishment

Even though my Steam wishlist is chocked full of gaming goodness, I've found myself unable to pull the trigger on any new purchases.  Well, newer than Cook, Serve, Delicious 2 which I wrote about last week.  Until the next big sale I think I will be finding myself spending time revisiting some old familiar games and trying to soldier through CSD2.

Slime
One of those ol' familiars is the fabulously cute Slime Rancher.  It's a game about exploring a world filled with an array of cute little slimes, capturing them, raising them, and then selling their plort byproducts for cash.  If you're like me, you might've walked away from Slime Rancher during its early access days.  Now that it's in full release there are even more adventures to be had with new areas, new slimes, new gadgets, and much, much more.  There are slimes to be captured!

Upon my return I decided to check out the two new areas--the Ancient Ruins and the Glass Desert.  The Ancient Ruins are an almost puzzle-like area filled with some interesting new slimes.  Quantum slimes have the unique ability to project an image of themselves and to teleport.  Their favorite food is the unique fruit, the phase lemon.  Phase lemons can only be obtained by shooting fruit that already exists at the lemon tree.  A fruit for a fruit.  Once you've captured some quantum slimes you want to make sure that you keep them fed and happy.  Unhappy quantum slimes have a tendency to teleport themselves outside of corrals and require some extra wrangling.

My beautiful mosaic tangle largo slimes.

Once you've found the Boom Gordo slime in the Ancient Ruins and satisfied it's desire for chicken consumption, you can unlock the teleporter to the Glass Desert.  On first glance the Glass Desert seems mostly empty.  You'll stumble across a new slime--the dervish slime--and some plants scattered across the large wasteland.  With some careful exploration you can unlock special fountains that can be used to restore oasis like areas across the zone.  In these oasis zones you will find two new species of slimes--the mosaic slime (the prettiest slime!) and the tangle slime.  Be sure to capture a few to take back to the ranch.  There are also some new plants--the silver parsnip and the prickle pear--that grow exclusively in the Glass Desert.  Oh, and be careful because the Glass Desert is subject to periodic fire storms that can cause damage to you but also contain another type of new slime--the fire slime.

My little ranch has grown into a sprawling complex filled with every variety of slimes, plenty of different foods, and a few cute little gadgets.  With the addition of the 7ZEE rewards club there are numerous rewards to work toward--some are cosmetic but others add special items.  I will definitely be spending some time down on the ol' slime ranch.

Punishment
Last week I wrote about the addition of Cook, Serve, Delicious 2 to my library.  It got off to a little bit of a rocky start with a release that wasn't quite finished.  Now, as I have played a little bit more, I am feeling a little conflicted about this newest addition.  I loved the original CSD and was so excited to hear that there was going to be a second iteration of cooking madness.  I'm just not quite sure that CSD2 is living up to the original.

I'm still not completely certain about what the entire purpose of the "cook for hire" challenges are.  It's very obvious that a lot of effort went into designing these numerous unique restaurants and challenges.  I enjoy the fact that there are so many interesting restaurants with cute backstories but why exactly am I playing them?  Sure, you get money and it's a way to build experience, but beyond that...it just doesn't feel as connected to the original premise of creating your restaurant and building it from the ground up.

I haven't spent any time playing in my own restaurant in CSD2--maybe I need to make myself break away from the repetitive C4H challenges, but I just feel really compelled to keep playing them.  along with that there's the whole reward system--to earn the coveted gold medal on each reward requires a perfect day.  Perfect days are easily doable in the first few days in a C4H restaurant but are extremely difficult at levels with more items on the menu and more buzz.  I wish I could say that earning these coveted medals is fun, but often they are a huge chore that requires you to play the same day over and over.  I've been struggling to tell myself that there is really no reason to try to attain a gold on every level.  I wish it was a little bit more fun to go back and earn those golds.

Chubigans, the sole developer has promised to add more features that fans have been asking for.  many of those features--like e-mail and unique daily events--should be added in a large update in October.  I'm hoping that these additions will make CSD2 feel closer to the original.

Back in the Kitchen with Cook, Serve, Delicious 2

For some reason I have a weird fondness for food games.  I have no idea where the desire to play cooking sims comes from...I hardly cook for myself.  That's why I was extremely surprised at how much I enjoyed the self-proclaimed "hard core restaurant sim" Cook, Serve, Delicious.  I've logged 52 hours of button mashing, food prepping madness in the original and was pumped when I heard that a second CSD was on the way.  Now that Cook, Serve, Delicious 2 has landed I have found myself frantically trying to prepare orders, do chores, and keep my patrons from angrily storming out of my restaurant.

So far I've only had time to spend a few hours with CSD 2, so there's a good chance that I haven't stumbled upon all the new features.  I can report that the gameplay is largely unchanged--it's still a whirlwind of pushing the perfect button combos as speedily as you can.  What has changed are some of the restaurant features.  Instead of simply having a few prep stations (...a few means 8 or 9) you also have "holding stations" that allow you to partially prep some food and then keep it ready for any customers who come in--basically the food is already cooked and you just have to finish throwing it all together.  Or, for foods that require no prep (like simple dishes--chicken nuggets, tater tots, etc.) you will have those automatically available (in a limited quantity).  Holding stations are great for hectic rush hour times--you can move people who want simple foods through quickly and focus on those that require more steps.  The downside is that it's another set of stations that demand your attention.  If you don't pay attention to the quantities left, you can be left high and dry during a rush hour and have to completely divert your attention away from filling orders in order to restock.

A tiny fragment of the foods to purchase.  Yummy!

The sheer quantity of different types of food in the game is impressive--soups, breakfast foods, drinks, entrees, side dishes...there has to be over 100.  Not only that, but the food looks absolutely delicious.  I think CSD 2 is the only game that makes me hungry while I am playing it.  I can usually feel myself salivating more while I play--the art style for the food is that realistic.

One big change that seems to have many CSD players divided is the campaign system.  Players have a choice to either start off in their own bare bones restaurant and run it or to play one of the many "cook for hire" (C4H) scenarios where they can choose to work in a certain restaurant.  Each C4H restaurant has specific number of challenges that increase in difficulty as you progress.  Players earn experience from these scenarios and can also unlock special items that can be used to decorate their own restaurants.  As players gain experience they earn both levels and "stars."  With increasing levels and stars more items to decorate your restaurant become available and players unlock more C4H restaurants.

Some of the unique restaurants in "cook for hire."

I started with C4H because I was initially confused about what I was supposed to be doing.  The C4H menu is large and filled with a giant array of different restaurants--the one little button for your own restaurant seems bland compared to the sprawling menu of other places to work.  C4H is a great place to start--you can gain some experience, learn how to use holding stations, unlock items, and start earning some cash to flesh out the pantry for your own restaurant.  Each day at one of the C4H restaurants offers different levels of rewards (bronze, silver, and gold)  based off the number of bad or average orders.  To earn a gold medal you must have a perfect day...this can be tougher than it sounds.

I've enjoyed messing around in the various C4H restaurants but I will admit that it feels odd not to be in my own restaurant.  I know that I could be doing it, but the C4H restaurants just look so dang interesting.  The feeling of being in your own restaurant and growing it from a grubby, no-stars slob-fest into a lobster serving, luxury palace is completely gone.  What was the focus of the original game seems to be an uninteresting side quest in CSD 2.  This is particularly sad because there are some neat design functions that allow players to personalize their restaurant with items that they unlock along the way.

My current restaurant design.  Eclectic, maybe?

Another point of contention with some players has been the fact that the game was released in an unfinished state.  Most of the unfinished aspects of the game were fairly minor (no mouse support for menus) but there were a few that were slightly miffing--a half-finished set of tutorials, missing prices for food, a buzz system that wasn't working, no listed food detractors.  The developer--literally one guy--has promised to polish up the rough edges and fix any issues that come to light.

Even with these launch issues I've been having fun testing out the many new foods and C4H restaurants.  I've unlocked a tsunami of items and have designed my own restaurant into a bizarre combination of odd art and wood flooring.  Mostly I'm learning the even tougher task of prepping foods with many, many more items and balancing the numerous prep and holding stations.

It's possible that you will read some negative reviews based around the unfinished state that the game was released in.  It is a little frustrating that the game wasn't completely finished on release, but once it is finished it promises to be a food filled adventure that is on-par or even better than the original.  For only $12.99 there is sooooo much cooking to do.

UPDATE 9/18/17:  Many of the issues that were present upon release have been fixed.  There is now mouse support in the main menus and the missing prices buzz and food detractors has been fixed.  Chubigans has promised to continue working to fix and add more to the game.

Another Dirty Gaming Secret

Every gamer has a certain game or type of game that they would be embarrassed to admit that they enjoy.  For me, it's always been awkward admitting that I've spent time playing The Sims series.  What can I say, there's just something oddly enjoyable about watching your character achieve their life goals.  Another genre that I will only grudgingly admit to enjoying is the hidden object game.  For some reason being able to find an object gives me a lot of satisfaction.  Yes, hidden object games are completely casual in nature, but they are just so dang relaxing.  Recently I decided to check out a couple of very different hidden object games and see what I've been missing in this casual genre.

The first game I checked out was Grim Legends:  The Forsaken Bride--a game developed by Artifex Mundi who apparently are one of the most well known names in the hidden object genre.  Grim Legends tells the story of a set of events surrounding a wedding gone wrong (in a very fairy tale sense).  As the story unfolds players are given an opportunity to find hidden objects and then to complete point and click tasks.  You might notice a small key stuck inside a pipe and need to find another object to help you fish the key out.  There are also more traditional hidden object areas where you are given a list of specific items to find in a jumble of objects.  The best part about the traditional hidden object areas is that the artwork is beautiful.

One of the beautiful hidden object puzzles in Grim Legends.

Besides finding hidden objects there are also many puzzles for players to complete.  These can range from putting together the pieces of something broken to finding the items for a potion and then following a recipe to create it.  There is plenty of variety to keep players invested in the story.  The puzzles aren't so difficult that you'll find yourself getting frustrated but they are just challenging enough that they do require some thought.  One nice feature is that puzzles can be skipped if you can't solve them.

I managed to get Grim Legends on sale for $3 (regular price is $9.99) and was happy with the amount that I paid.  It took me about 7 hours to complete the main story and a short additional bonus story that was included.  The story isn't anything novel but the variety in puzzles and hidden object interaction was fun.

Since I was on a bit of a hidden object game bender, I also decided to check out Hidden Folks.  Unlike Grim Legends, Hidden Folks is more about simply finding things and reminds me of the Where's Waldo? books that were so popular when I was a kid.  Hidden Folks is a series of cute, hand-drawn scenarios with a pictorial list of people or objects for players to find.  Finding those folks can be a straightforward matter of simply being able to spot them on a chaotic map filled with many, many moving pieces or could involve you needing to manipulate an object in order to find them--they might be hanging out in a tent and you need to click on the flap to open it up or hanging out inside a house and you need to open a door.  The game almost challenges you to click on things and see if they move or change--this is something that many hidden object games actually discourage and penalize.



The best part of Hidden Folks is the sound effects.  They are basically some guy making noises--"beep, beep" when you click on a car or a "whoosh" noise for something moving.  You want to click on things just to hear the noise that it makes.

There are four different zones in Hidden Folks--the jungle, the desert, the city, and the factory.  Each has their own distinct challenges.  The desert is a large, sprawling map with a few pockets of activity but otherwise very empty.  The factory is filled with shelves, drawers, computers, moving parts and tons o' folks.  The objects players are asked to find can seem quite daunting--like a tiny mushroom or a golf ball--but it can be done and it's actually fun to get stuck and try to find an object.

If you're looking for some relaxing games I would highly recommend both Grim Legends and Hidden Folks.  Even if you're someone who's not really into casual puzzle games, you will find yourself engrossed in both of them.

 

Re-Masterful

My general opinion of game remasters is that they are simply a cash grab--a clever way to re-market an older game (....in some cases, not so old) and convince people that buying the same game again will be completely worth it.  Being a teacher on a limited budget, I don't feel compelled to dish out additional money.  But the question begs to be asked...are remasters worth it?  Since I'm currently in a bit of a game hole, I decided to download and check out the remastered version of Bioshock. The nice part about this option is that it cost me $0.  If you already owned Bioshock and Bioshock 2 you received the remastered versions for free (on Steam anyway)!

I enjoy the occasional shooter but I don't spend a ton of time playing them.  Bioshock has always been one of my favorites, not necessarily for the shooter aspect, but mostly for the awesome setting and the story--utopia gone wrong. The underwater utopia that is Rapture is the perfect combination of magical and horrible.  Windows open up onto underwater vistas where whales swim by...and then you hear the crazy, high-pitched yammering of a splicer.  You can't see the genetic mutant lurking somewhere nearby, but you can definitely hear them.  In just a few seconds that sense of wonder is replaced by the creeping sensation of fear.  No other shooter has managed to make me feel so afraid of exploring a bathroom, shadows, and simply turning around (I don't really do horror games for this reason--I am a total wuss).

Fort Frolic is my favorite zone.

The remaster offers that same magical/horrible experience with new and improved graphics.  I'm no graphical expert but I didn't feel like I noticed anything groundbreakingly different.  The one thing I thought looked improved were the animations for the plasmids--your flaming left hand looks...flamier (is that even a word?).  The splicers and Rapture in general didn't seem drastically more ugly or beautiful.

There are a couple of new features that are nice for fans of the series.  As you play, you can listen to the director commentary about each zone.  If you've ever wondered about what the thinking behind a level, character, or zone, you will definitely enjoy the added insight.  There is also a video where the design of the game is discussed with Ken Levine (the head honcho).  From the start menu players can select an option to visit the "museum" which is a collection of concept art and 3-D enemy designs that didn't quite make it into the game.

One of the 3-D enemy rejects you can view in the museum.

If additional gameplay is what you're looking for, there's some of that too.  Challenge mode allows you to grapple with some unique scenarios to test your combat, puzzle solving, and plasmid wielding powers.  I decided to forgo the challenges but might go back and give them a look later on.

When viewing the Steam reviews for the remaster they are mostly negative and many cite bugs, crashing, and poor performance.  I did not have a single crash and didn't encounter any bugs.  Maybe I just got lucky, who knows.  I can't really attest to the performance piece because I don't know how to figure out how many FPS I'm getting and if things are getting shaky.  Overall I felt like the graphics looked updated and more polished but that they weren't really anything special.

Rapture has always held a special place as one of my favorite gaming environments.  It is definitely worthwhile to check out this new and improved version, but it's basically exactly the same.  If you've got a copy of the remaster sitting in your Steam library, give it a go.