The Path Demo, Not As It Appears

Tale of Tales has released a demo for their game The Path, which actually turns out to be a prequel, making it well worth the download for those of us who were thoroughly enthralled by the full blown game.

Instead of making a trial version that allows you to play part of the game, we created a new chapter that takes place in the same forest but with a few things different. So even if you have played The Path, you might like to have a look at this.

The primary purpose of The Path - Prologue is of course to give people an opportunity to get a taste of the atmosphere of the full game and test our technology on their computer. Hopefully many like what they see and buy the full version.

Brilliant move for a brilliant game.

Download link.

Won't Anyone Think About the Zombies!

Some people seem to be angry about the announcement that Left 4 Dead 2, a full blown sequel to L4D, will be released later this year.

"People are pissed," I told him.

"Well, some are," he responded.

That's something of an understatement. I've been getting e-mails, texts, phone calls, and tweets from readers and friends enraged over Valve releasing a sequel to Left 4 Dead so quickly. This is a company that has reinvented Team Fortress 2 since its release, and every update was free. Left 4 Dead received the Survival Pack, and now there is a sequel coming to the PC and 360 this year.

Personally, I like L4D, but don't nearly play it enough to care about a second one coming out this fall. My biggest disappointment with the game was the limited number of campaigns and character types. Unfortunately, in a very unlike Valve way, it appears this will be remedied in an expansion.

Valve should really start thinking about the Zombies. Chainsaws? A bit harsh, even for the living dead, in my honest opinion. A bit cliche as well.

Update: 25 Oct, 2009 - I take back everything I've said in this post.

Team Fortress 2 Unlockables and Achievements: Back to Normal

Valve has updated the item unlock system of Team Fortress 2 to include achievement milestones again.

Added Sniper/Spy milestone achievements as an additional way players can get the new unlockables.

So, in addition to the new random drop system, we also have the old exploitable/grind achievements model. While, I like that there is a directed way to unlock the items for a single class again, I can't help but sigh at the fact that Spy and Sniper achievement cheat servers are going to run rampant. I'm not sure this benefits any legitimate players, as it appears the random drop rate for items has been increased. I'm getting new items faster than before and I've not suffered a duplicate item since my run in with Natascha x4.

Keen believes this combined system redeems Valve for the early stutters of the random drop system:

Thankfully they came to their senses. Valve fixed the unlock controversy with a patch today that makes the item unlock system work how it should have worked all along: Items are once again unlockable through earning achievements in addition to being found through drops. I’ve noticed that the drop rate has been increased as well (found 3 items, that I already had, in under an hour of actually playing).

I don't see how it redeems Valve. With the increased drop rate, I can't imagine anyone playing fair would actually go after the achievement milestones as a way to unlock an item. Which means, the only players using the achievement milestones are the cheaters that want the Spy/Sniper items (or whatever class is next to get updated).

In my opinion, this just shows how poorly thought out the unlock system was to begin with. As I've stated in the past, Valve should just dump the system and keep the random drops for things like hats.

Keen ends the argument for me:

Honestly, it’s a bit easy and if you play for any time at all you’re going to get items but that’s how a FPS game should be - all skill with these extras being fluff.

It will be interesting to see the spike in the number of Spys and Snipers running around with their new toys, all gained through legitimate means no doubt.

Free Realms Hits 2 Million, None Could Be Reached For Comment

Free Realms, fresh off their first million players announcement, has announced that they've reached the 2 million mark.

Today Sony announced that over 2 million unique users have registered to their new free2play MMORPG Free Realms. Of those users, 75% are under the age of 17, 46% under 13 and 1/3 are female gamers. To be honest I thought Free Realms was going to be a flop. I didn’t actually play it, but I obviously severely underestimated the draw it would have on young people. Two million unique registered players in less then one month is huge to say the least.

Certainly a remarkable feat, although moot in the grand scheme of "is it making any money?". However, I honestly question where these two million players reside. I've logged a few hours in Free Realms now and I have yet to actually speak to anyone in game directly. I haven't even seen local chat between players. Even when playing the card game, there is limited to no talk between players. So far, Free Realms is a 3D web site that forces you to run from mini-game to mini-game instead offering the instant access of a standard website.

I'm really confused on what to think of Free Realms. The mini-games get repetitive fast, but yet tie back into a larger world which varies the goals and makes the repetition at least mildly interesting. Secondly, the game play is solid and the game itself runs without a hitch (so far).

But as I approach more than a few hours played, I am starting to see the freebies run out and the game increasingly asking for a credit card. Plus, it loves to remind players at every loading screen that member benefits are only $4.99 (per month) away and as anyone that plays Free Realms knows, there are A LOT of loading screens.

Unfortunately, I don't think SOE cares. They are hitting their age demographic and as I have no teenagers/young adults in my household, Free Realms is most likely to be lost upon me.

No Such Thing as a Free Game: Quake Live

Ever heard that there is no such thing as a free puppy? Sure, the puppy is free, but the food is not, veterinarian bills don't pay themselves, and that poop in the back yard isn't going to clean itself up. Nothing is ever free; there is always a price to pay.

Quake Live: Free to play, ad supported

Why Quake Live isn’t a free game: because there’s a $1,500 gaming computer sitting on the desk.

Pros:

• Free to play and the advertisements are not intrusive.
• It runs or will run on almost any PC.*
• Quake Live is quick and simple to get started with. The game itself downloads while players play a practice match against the computer.
• The social and community features are well done. It’s easy to track friends and join them in matches.
• The achievements system is well done, adds challenges, and contributes to replay value.
• Tons of maps and several game types also keep replay value high.
• Match-making based on skill level helps to keep a level playing field.
• Finding a match that interests a player and offers the game type they want is dead simple. One of the best mergers of a server browser/match making system that I’ve ever seen.

Cons:

• It claims to be web browser-based, but requires an installer that runs outside of the web browser. **
• The game does not seem to cope well with latency. Any little bump in latency or lag will result in a deteriorated play experience.
• Game-play is twitch-based and fast. This limits the game to a niche audience.
• The text output onto the UI is tough to read and follow.
• The graphics are dated and special effects are lacking.

Conclusion

Quake Live significantly lowers the barrier for entry into the FPS gaming genre and as a game that is meant to be played in a web browser, it’s good. For those players lacking an up to date gaming rig, Quake Live is a golden opportunity. For those players with an up to date rig, like me, Quake Live feels dated. I have always believed in quality of game play over eye candy, but when I can pick up games like Team Fortress 2 or Unreal Tournament III for $10-$20, Quake Live loses ground. However, free is free and Quake Live delivers exactly as it has promised and offers a FREE escape for a few minutes of FPS fun. For that, I give it two thumbs up. So, go give it a try!

*as of this writing, only a Windows installer is available, but they are working on Linux and MAC versions.

**the installer installs a plug-in based on the web browser being used. For me, it was Firefox, which normally can install plug-ins without the need to download an installer and regardless of what operating system I am using at the time.