Let's Play Games!

What’s up everyone! My name is Beth Kerner, I’m an illustrator, gamer, and totally clueless! I love nothing more than going on adventures, kicking someone’s ass, and getting achievements in games. I nerd out over the massive worlds, interesting characters, and the stories games tell. This blog is place where I can share my thoughts and experiences, and where I can post sketches inspired by these games.

[agameaweek]

The Wolf Among Us

Telltale Games made a game adaptation on Bill Willingham's Fables comic series.  The game starts in New York before the comic series begins. You play Bigby Wolf (Big Bad Wolf) who is the the sheriff of the Fables. I like the gritty cell shaded style of the game, it's a nod to the comic style and it works great.  The game is a choose your own adventure, but it forces you to think on your toes, because if you don't choose an action, the game will continue without you, often with Bigby getting punched in the face.  All your actions have consequences as well, how you react to one character will determine how they will respond to you later in the game. I did not get to finish the game, even though it is pretty short, so I will be coming back to this when I finish it.  So far, great game, I would recommend!

[agameaweek]

Limbo is a side scrolling puzzle-platform game. The game starts without any dialogue or promps.  You begin by waking up in a forest not knowing how you got there or why.  You explore the world and run into a lot of dangerous creatures and creepy children that run off when they see you.  During our journey you encounter puzzles that get progressively harder.  And you die a lot... but that is okay, it's a learning experience and it actually isn't too frustrating.  This game is beautiful with how it's set up.  I love the artistic direction that was taken, the tone of the game is perfect because of it.  On top of the dark visuals, the sound design is fantastic.  The ambient noise in the game gave that sense of dread, and a lot of the puzzles you have to listen to the sounds they give in order to solve them.  The ending was kind of abrupt but I kind of like that.  At least in this case.

This game is beautiful, kind of dark, and a lot of fun. Definitely would recommend! 

[agameaweek]

I have been playing BattleBlock Theater on Xbox recently.  It's extremely hilarious and a great way to zone out when you don't want to think about writing a thesis paper... The game is cute, simple, and entertaining.  I love the sound effects of the game and the noises the little guys make are amusing. This game has co-op which can be a lot of fun, unless you get the asshole that just screws you over all the time (like in Magicka..uuugh) 

The way the game conducts its story is great, it's a bit like Bastion where the narrator talks throughout the game.  Though in BattleBlock the narrator usually makes sassy comments at your failures (which I love). 

[agameaweek]

I think I squeed and did a little jig of happiness when I got Ocarina of Time for my 3DS. I used to play the crap out of this game!  It has been way too long since I last played it on the N64 (which is somewhere in the black hole of my mom's basement)... Anyways!  The 3DS version is obviously a remake, and because it is on the 3DS they added 3D elements to the game (but I didn't notice that since I have it turned off all the time).  They also upped the graphics <3  

One thing that bothers me though it the movement control you get with the 3DS's slide pad.  That thing is so touchy and hard to be accurate with. I keep falling off ledges.  I wish you could use the D-pad instead.  Other than that, I have no issues with the game being on the 3DS.  

The motion control they added in the game is pretty neat and something I really enjoy. It allows you to aim by moving your 3DS around (pretty sure I would fail horribly at aiming using the slide pad)  It adds to the immersion and I think it's kinda fun.  I like that they have not changed the game for the most part, they left it alone (It's a great game, why mess with it?) I just hate when someone remakes a game and completely changes it and I'm like nooo stop! 

Anyways, great game, but we all know that. Definitely worth a buy on the 3DS!

[agameaweek]

So my boyfriend bought me a 3DS recently and I am currently struggling with balancing me want to play Pokemon X and needing to work on my thesis... Such a bad influence!  I have't been able to play a Pokemon game since the originals because I just didn't own the system or I didn't have the money at the time and then kind of forgot about them.  I really enjoyed playing red and blue and completed those... (and probably replayed them several times). I am having a hard time wrapping my head around there being 700+ Pokemon now.  Every time I got into a random battle I am like OMG WHAT IS THAT THING?! I like that I don't know all these Pokemon though!  A lot of people would be like oh it's that Pokemon, meh... but I like discovering all these new guys.  I find that leveling and battling trainers is super easy so far but I guess the main goal is catching all of them and all that jazz.  I am not very far into it (just got my 2nd badge.... haha so far behind) but I am slowly working my way through it.  I am really enjoying this game and can't wait to trade with people! Also, I really want that Purugly Pokemon, it's so uuugly and adorable at the same time and I want to pinch its cheeks!  

Side note: My thesis is on cats haha

[agameaweek]

So I have been playing Mass Effect 3 (finally). I love the series, they're all great games with great characters and designs.... but the body Edi acquires bothers me to no end.  Mind you, I have not finished the game, hell I basically just started (thaaaaanks thesis).  I am curious if this body was designed a specific way for reasons I have yet to find out or not, but for now I am unaware of them.  The robot was a spy and used to infiltrate a base etc., I honestly do not see a need for a body design like that.  It is just screaming fan service eye candy to me.  I am disappointed... When I interact with her all I see is boobs up and I am like damn girl good thing you are a robot because your back would be hurting so bad or broken.  Another thing that makes me extremely uncomfortable is how Joker's view/relationship changes as soon as she has this body.  I absolutely loved their relationship in 2.  Their sass back and forth was the best.  And even though Joker complained he still cared and enjoyed the AI's company.  This change leaves a bad taste in my mouth because she is basically seen as a sexual object now.  I do think it's cute she tries to take him out though...but I feel like she would have worked up to that regardless of this body, but he would not have reacted the same had her design been different.  Don't get me wrong, you work with what you are given and you rock it (and she does) but I hate that this design was even created, like why this design, why does it have to be huge breasts and bubble butt and unrealistic waist size? I think I am hoping they have an explanation but I highly doubt it and that makes me disappointed. 

So, I redesigned her. I didn't want to change too much but I wanted to make her more... realistic 

I added the red to show her original body proportions 

[agameaweek]

Brothers - A Tale of Two Sons

Developer: Starbreeze Studios AB

Publisher: 505 Games

  I decided to try my hand at another indie game.  Brothers - A tale of Two Sons was released early August on Xbox 360 live arcade and released on Steam and Playstation September so I have only seen the trailer (woo no spoilers!). The game is a puzzle platformer about two brothers who are on a quest to help their sick father.  The thing that makes this game stand out from the rest is the single player character co-op. You play both brothers at once.  The game highly suggests using an Xbox 360 controller to play, but you can play with mouse and keyboard if so desired.  I think it was just designed to work better for the controller.  My roommate kept saying it looked like it could be two player and wished that it was.  While I agree it would be fun to play this game with another person, I think controlling both brothers on one controller adds the difficulty to the game.  If each person was controlling one of the brothers, while a beautiful game, it would be a walk in the park.  Controlling both takes coordination and you have to pay attention to what each are doing.  Yeah, it can be frustrating at times. Sometimes I would be concentrating so much on one brother trying to get him to jump and I would forget about the other and he would either run off or fall and die (mind you, it didn’t happen that often but I’ll be the one to admit I did do that, haha). What would be interesting and fun is if it was two player and each person controls two characters at once.

  The story was okay, a little flat.  It was simple and to the point, I mean it’s not horrible, it’s just nothing special. The thing I am in love with is the art style of this game. Brothers is B-E-A-U-T-I-F-U-L! Auugh! Those views they put into the game are just stunning!  I just want to sit back and bask in the artistic glory of this game!  The attention to atmosphere is fabulous.  The game has a narrative quality to it, if that makes sense. It’s charming and colorful. Josef Fares, a successful Swedish filmmaker directed Brothers, and that shows in how cinematic this game feels (it’s a good thing!).  

  So even though the story wasn’t that amazing, the game is freakin’ beautiful and the game play controlling the two characters at once is interesting and new.  Something that I did not mention above, the soundtrack of this game is incredible!  In my opinion people should definitely pick this game up and give it a try. I give it an 8/10.

[agameaweek]

Outlast

Publisher: Red Barrels

Developer: Red Barrels

Buy some Depends, you will shit yourself playing this game.

  Outlast is definitely is a survival horror game, aka scare galore, very similar to Amnesia, Slender, and SCP Containment Breach.  You have no way of defending yourself.  You have the option of run or hide.  So if you like those types of games you’ll definitely enjoy this.

The graphics and sound quality of Outlast are surprisingly good for a horror game, I might even go as far to say it’s one of the better in terms of graphics for this genre of games.  Outlast uses lighting and sound to keep you on edge the entire time.  More often than not I found myself getting hyped up over the smallest of sounds.   

As soon as the game allowed you to control the character I noticed that walking felt different.  It was like if you were walking through water, that fight to move forward.  Usually walking in games feels seamless, I never really pay much attention

I’m not going to lie, I’m a huge baby.  These types of scare factor games are not my cup of tea, but I had to give it a try.  I kept seeing screenshots from the game and was intrigued.  I have a fascination with abandoned buildings and when I found out you investigate an abandoned asylum I got excited. I immediately regret that excitement. Seriously, who in their right mind would go to an abandoned asylum.  At night. Alone. I mean, really?!  I get frustrated in these games because I can’t fight back.  I’m not asking for a gun or anything like that but being able to pick something up and defend myself, even if it’s hitting them and running away would be nice; but that’s the whole point in these games. To take away control and leave you feeling vulnerable.  I tend to end up hiding in one spot a lot, stalling before I force myself to go out in the open and look for a way out.  One thing that really bothers me in the game is how the character opens and closes doors.  He stands right in front of the door and just flings it open.  There’s an option to open the door quietly but he still positions himself in the middle.  If it were me, I would stand off to the side and open the door and lightly push the door open, that way I’m not exposing myself.  Just saying.

You play a journalist named Miles Upshur who receives a tip on Murkoff Corporation using the old Mount Massive Asylum.  You set out to investigate what is happening at the asylum, only to become trapped and must find a way to escape and survive.  You know, like any horror story. Some person thinks it’s a great idea to go check out this place that they obviously know is a bad idea and then they end up fighting to survive while trying to escape.  

I had a few objectives I needed to accomplish. The first was to investigate the site.  While exploring you find there’s a dead end, all the doors are locked.  You do find a duct that’s open, with blood dripping from it.  Of course you go crawl around the bloody duct system, what else is there to do? (Not leave right?)  While Miles is snooping around he runs into a several dead bodies.  At one point there’s a special ops that is skewered with a pole, still alive...ish, lovely. He warns you to leave, and what does Miles do? He continues. Well I guess that was me since I was playing but still, there wouldn’t be a game if you didn’t. I continued on looking around on the second floor and as Miles squeezes through a barricade this huge hulking deformed guy grabs you (calling you little pig) and throws you through a window and you land onto the first floor lobby.  Miles wakes up with some creep all in his face going on about Miles being an apostle and that he has a calling. Uh, okay?  He disappears, and a new objective pops up on screen.  You need to find a way out. Well no shit Sherlock, I’ve been sassing my computer screen the entire game and this character is just now realizing, hey this isn’t the best idea, I should leave.  Good job there Miles.  Exploring through rooms, you find a key card that’s for the security room. Once I found that room of course that little shit from earlier that was going on about Miles being an apostle is seen on the security cams and you see him cutting the power. Thanks asshole.  At that point I had to go hide in a locker because that deformed hulk comes in looking for me.  Fuck that shit, I totally hid in that locker for like, five minutes, even though he left awhile ago.  I eventually left to go find the breaker for the power. Oh guess what, it’s in the basement. Great, because nothing creepy ever happens in the basement.  This lovely asylum’s basement is totally flooded so any movement is given away with all the splashing.  Miles makes it to the breaker and what do ya know, it doesn’t work. Who saw that coming? I know I didn’t.  As I’m going through the different rooms and turning on different things for the breaker, I find out that there’s another person down there, an alive person that is, that’s looking for my character.  There was a lot of screaming and hiding in lockers.  I finally fix the breaker and switch it back on, as soon as I do that the guy that’s in the basement chasing me finds me and I have to cheese it before he kills me. I end up running to some random back room that probably isn’t the best place to go since I have to go back out into that room to leave, but oh well I got away and hid.  At this point I had been playing for about an hour and fifteen minutes.  I decided to call it quits because fuck that I’m sick of getting the shit scared out of me every other minute. Not sure if I will play this game again, but I definitely want to watch someone else playing it because I want to know what happens.  Who knows, maybe I’ll suck it up and finish it.