Transistor Review - Supergiant Games - PC (2014)

Abandon hope all ye whom expect anything short of the full 5 stars for Transistor. It’s what it deserves and rightly so. I’ll cover the sum of its parts in more detail throughout the review, but if you want the short version, it’s as close to perfection in a video game that I’ve seen for quite some time. Supergiant are a small, exceptionally experienced team and for their second effect have really hit the nail on the head. It’s not what you would define as a game, it’s an experience.

2011 saw Supergiant release Bastion to high critical acclaim, its unique narrative, style and story helped it on its way to several Game of The Year awards. For Supergiant, it’s a case of if it’s not broke then don’t fix it. But don’t bring out the exact same game again! I could spend the whole review discussing where Transistor is heavily influenced by Bastion, it’s not a bad thing. It would have been crazy for them to abandon a formula that has worked so well.

One similarity that wouldn’t have been left out regardless of how different Transistor could have been to Bastion is its art. It’s a similar isometric viewed plane in Third Person, however, Cloudbank is a completely new universe. Dashes of neon and a haze of noir bring this Cyberpunk inspired playground to life. It feels like a real city, a real world. The character design of Red, the game’s main protagonist fits the world wonderfully, along with the Transistor sword itself. Add The Process also don’t feel out of place, they’re well designed and feel dangerous in the environment, their often clinical whites offset by the softer environments. All of these elements, right down to the UI fit the title wonderfully, and I honestly could not find a fault with the artistic direction. Thanks for the 100+ screenshots I took whilst playing through!

Darren Korb returns with another absolute blinder of a soundtrack also. This is a man that knows how to create music and sound for a game and helps bring Transistor’s art to life. His music is memorable, and comfortable without detracting from the immersion of the title. It’s quality is perfect and there’s not a single track that sounds like it’s from a different game universe. Another job well done and a huge thumbs up. 

Another stalwart of the Supergiant arsenal is its narration. Bastion’s narrator returns to voice the Transistor, the games’ only weapon. The story is driven in a different way from Bastion. The Transistor acting as a companion for Red. The chemistry between sword and wielder is solid. They work as a perfect pair and the story flows well through the sword talking to Red and the game’s OVC stations dotted around the world of Cloudbank.

With the Transistor being the only weapon in the game, it poses a unique problem. How do you control the strength of the weapon so that it believably struggles in the early stages yet comes true by the end? Well if you’re Supergiant you answer that question with a fantastic mechanic. The Transistor has 16 different abilities or “functions” which can be used as either a main usable action, a buff for a main action or a passive ability. This system, along with the Turn() function, which I’ll cover off later helps keep the combat fresh through the playthrough and will adapt itself to pretty much anyone’s playstyle.  This system allows for thousands of combinations, and is a masterstroke by Supergiant. Within these 16 abilities you can play Red in whichever way you like. There’s a maximum amount that can be equipped as some abilities pack more of a punch than others but you’re almost guaranteed to find a combination that suits you.

At its heart Transistor is an Action RPG, its fast and frenetic pace will keep any seasoned veteran a run for his money without using the Turn(). I found the Turn() to be pretty unique spin on the combat system, using the power of the Transistor you can stop time, plan and use actions and execute within a short period of time, this will disable you for a few seconds but allows you to chain actions together, thinking through a unique challenge each time. There’s not a huge variety of enemies but it’s nice to pick and choose your enemies whilst keeping a safe distance to plan your next attack.

Couple all these elements with a thoroughly engaging story and you’ve got gaming gold. It may be short, I clocked my first play through in around 6 hours, but it’s a beautiful 6 hours. At £14.99 on release it’s a very pair price for the quality it provides. There’s very little I’d change about Transistor it impressed me thoroughly and my attention is very much focused on where Supergiant go from here. I don’t see the wheels coming off this cart anytime soon! 

Age of Mythology: Extended Edition - SkyBox Labs - PC (2014)

Once bitten, twice shy for the “HD” remake of Age of Mythology with Microsoft opting to bring you the “Extended” edition of Age of Mythology for PC. Ensemble Studios, a name so common-place in RTS folklore you’d be forgiven for thinking they done more than the Age of Empires and Mythology series before being outcast to that illustrious list of Studios that didn’t deserve to be closed. However, Microsoft is and Microsoft does and has cashed in on the brand.

Last Year we were gifted with Age of Empires II HD edition. I for one was pretty excited for this. I spent most of my childhood fondly cutting down trees, mining gold and dancing in the rivers of blood of thine enemies. The year was 1999, the internet was making funny noises, everyone was scared of the Millennium Bug and Mr Oizo’s Flat Beat was number 1 in the UK charts. A fond time! I let my excitement build and was let down. The “HD” remake allowed you to play Age of Empires II in 1920 x 1080, no upgrades textures, mechanics, music, sound, gameplay, campaign or units. So after that disappointment trudged on and when Age of Mythology: Extended Edition came knocking, well, I got excited and I got let down again.

For all intents and purposes it’s the same game. It follows the usual practice of base building and in turn army building. The mechanics don’t hold up as well as they used to. Real Time Strategy games in general have evolved a lot more than other genres. You can’t really force an early rush. There’s no real expansion processes and games generally take quite a while to get going. If it’s compared to games like Starcraft II, I’m fully aware that Starcraft II is a direct sequel but when you lay it side-by-side against Age of Mythology you really notice how far the genre has moved on. I also feel that it is fair to hold Age of Mythology against Starcraft II as far as comparisons go. At the time of writing Age of Mythology is £22.00 on Steam and Starcraft II able to be purchased from Amazon for £21.49. As far as value of money goes I’d stick with Starcraft, unless your nostalgia is simply aching for Age of Mythology. It’s the little things that also grate on me whilst playing in the modern age. There’s no sense of altitude of terrain, Age of Mythology feels incredibly flat, there’s no solid differentiation between your hero and standard units and there’s no cover or protection system minus garrisoning your units. Let’s take a run through the new features: Time of Day, Improved water, Shadows, Bump/Specular maps, Global Lighting and Antialiasing. Achievements and Steamworks Integration was also added, but unless you’re a huge fan of the game it doesn’t go far enough in my opinion.

It might seem preachy but its just lazy development. Build it from the ground up, throw some real money into the studio and let them make a new game. There’s no harm in keeping a steady IP going. I’d be the first to buy a new Age of Mythology game on release. The problem here is though that you’re given a repackaged game from over 10 years ago. Half the problem is down to the HD-remake phase we’ve been going through. In my honest opinion it works well with some titles. God of War, Devil May Cry, FFX. All solid games and when ported to have proper HD visuals is a fair enough cash in on a well established IP. What I can’t stand are the repackaged games, along with Age of Mythology and Age of Empires II, the recent Final Fantasy VII and VIII releases unfortunately fall in this category. There’s a few games I’d love to see ported to HD from back then. Give me a fully graphically updated HD remake of No-one Lives Forever and you probably won’t see me for a week. Decade old RTS upscaled to 1920 x 1080 just don’t cut it I’m afraid. 

Luftrausers - Vlambeer - PC (2014)

Wagner’s Ride of the Valkyries, you know the one! Apocalypse Now. “DUN DUN, DUN DUN DUUUN DUN” if you’ve ever had a remote liking to that piece, Luftrausers is the Valkyrie personified. That blaze of destructive glory taking down as many foes with you as you can. You don’t win, come on no one wins in war, you just do a little better every time!

Developed by Vlambeer and published by Devolver Digital and available now for PC, Mac, PS3 and Vita. Luftrausers is an arcade-style 2D dogfighter with a bite. It may look like a simple game from screenshots but when you get your hands on it you’ll soon realise that there’s more than meets the eye with the game.

Luftrausers gives you the control of a “Rauser” (Plane) to kill as many enemies in the sky and sea as you can before you are blown to smithereens yourself. Luftrauser’s mechanics are what gives the title its longevity. Each Rauser is composed of three sections. A weapon, a body and an engine. Each combination of these three attributes will give you a unique “Rauser” to pilot and rain bloody vengeance on your enemies. These not only add a fun experimental feel to the title by trying to find a combination that suits you best and even then, each Rauser will make you adapt your playstyle accordingly. Having a tougher body and a close range blast for a weapon may make you more melee in nature, whereas the turbocharged engine with the laser weapon will rely on your agility and ability to keep out of range of your enemies. It’s what gives Luftrausers a bit of breathing room as, with say 5 or 6 Rausers, its charm would wear thin very quickly.

Speaking of its charm, Luftrausers sticks to a retro-inspired theme, from its audio to its art style and right down to its simplistic yet intuitive control system it’ll pull you back to your days of throwing quarters into those big shiny arcade machines and it’s the arcade style that works best. The art style is very basic yet gives feeling of layered combat, your Rauser will fly in and out of clouds, arch around incoming bullets with ease and the frame rate stays at a constant high. The controls are simplistic, aim your Rauser in the direction you want to fire and let loose. It has a very nice thrust and stall mechanic, and the physics applied feel proper. There’s no better feeling than being chased down by a jet, only to cut your engines, spin quickly in mid-air and let him have it! Speaking of its arcade-style don’t go into this expecting to be made to feel guilty for blowing that jet out of the sky, instead, have some combo points! Also, don’t expect to be survive for more than 10 minutes maximum, unless you’re extremely good. It might have simplistic controls and have a singular style but this is a game that will punish you if you’re not too careful.

What will keep you coming back for more is its ability to always have that “Carrot on the Stick” feel. Each part of your Rauser will give you a set mission to complete and completing these will provide the experience needed to level up and unlock more components. You’ll also unlock colour schemes along the way, giving cosmetic customisation options to the title. These aren’t exactly a highlight however, some of them feel shoehorned in and after a while will be completely unplayable. Blue on Purple…No Thanks.

Luftrausers is worthy of your time, no doubt. It’s in its simplicity that allows the title to flourish. You can pretty much just pick it up and play without having to worry if you’d set your Y-Axis correctly or that your wing flaps are titled to the right angle. I’m not saying there’s anything wrong with games that go into that much depth with flight, however, if you’re looking for a quick blast through some enemies then Luftrausers will fill that niche very easily.