What video games are you currently playing?

Bought it. I got around 30 hours out of the first game -- I enjoyed my playthrough of it but it got very grind-y which isn't a gameplay style I enjoy. It was sorely in need of multiplayer and a new game+ feature, which I understand the sequel has. For $7 it seems kind of like a no-brainer -- the reviews were good, I like the developer, and even if I end up not enjoying the game I'm not out a fortune here.

In other gaming news, we have a twofer this week. First, Humble Bundle is selling Bastion this week:

The Humble Weekly Sale: Bastion (pay what you want and help charity)

They're marketing it as a "weekly" sale, and it appears that it will be the first of many. If you somehow still don't own Bastion, now is your chance. You can have the game on Steam and with standalone DRM-free downloads for Windows, Mac and Linux for all of $1. Beating the average (currently $2.63) gets you the absolutely stellar soundtrack and a digital art pack (along with sheet music and ringtones, if that's your bag) and for $25 you can also get a bunch of Bastion-related swag, shipped worldwide.

I've raved about this game before. There's nothing else like it out there -- you really should own this game, and if you don't already after this there's no excuse not to.

Second, and probably related, Supergiant Games (the makers of Bastion) have announced their next title. It's called Transistor, and has a futuristic/dystopian vibe. The art and setting remind of how I always kind of pictured Snow Crash, and judging by the song used in the trailer it's also going to have a killer soundtrack to go with it. Word is that Logan Cunningham, who voiced the narrator in Bastion, is involved in this one too, though they haven't announced in what capacity yet. Will he be narrating again? Will there be some other role for him? I guess we'll see.

Reveal trailer here:


View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GTik6sYT_BE

 

I'm perfectly okay with a more polished version of Bastion. If they've got a good narrative to go with it, I don't see a problem with sticking to a gameplay style that works. I'm anticipating that it's going to basically play the same as Bastion with some minor gameplay tweaks; a sort of spiritual sequel. Given how much I loved their first game that's just fine by me.

In other indie gaming news, Steam has two new notable things going on right now. First off, there's the new early access feature. This is essentially a Steam paid Alpha service -- you pay to get the game right away, warts and all, and then you get to submit feedback to the developers as the game is developed.

Two games are in the early access system right now that I think are really worth looking at. The first is Kerbal Space Program, which has a thread dedicated to it somewhere around here. Currently it costs $23, and gets you in to build spaceships and launch them into orbit or to other planets. Or attempt to, and blow them up in the process. For people who own KSP already, the devs are working on a way to distribute Steam keys to you and will have that sorted soon. They just released v0.19 to coincide with the early access launch, which features some pretty pretty graphics improvements, including atmospheric effects and more expressive Kerbals. Feel their terror as they hurtle to their doom!

The second game to look at is one that I've been following since it was launched but haven't mentioned here yet: Prison Architect. The concept of the game is that you build a prison to house prisoners. You need to provide them with cells, food, showers and entertainment, create a regime for them to follow, hire guards, doctors, cooks an janitors to look after the prisoners and your facility. You receive funding from the government and will be able to build workshops to put the prisoners to work making you money. They do need to have their needs met, or else they'll complain, start fights, wreck your facilities and eventually instigate full scale riots. The game is under development from Introversion Software, which is the same company that made Uplink, Defcon, and Darwinia. It's an ambitious project that doesn't shy away from some of the controversial issues surrounding the modern prison industry. It's an interesting take on a management sim, but be aware that it is still in the very early development stages -- a lot of features haven't been implemented or balanced correctly, and there are still a host of bugs. The developers are working hard at getting on it and progress since launch has been tremendous; it's gone from a point where it was barely playable in Alpha 1 to a nice if somewhat rough sim in it's current version (alpha 8). This one is $30 for the game itself, and offers extra tiers up to $50 on Steam or up to $500 on their website, which all come with additional rewards.

There's also Arma III alpha available through early access. It doesn't interest me personally, but if military sims are your thing it might be worth checking out.

The second thing Steam's doing that's worth noting: they have an indie sale going on this week. There are a lot of great indie games out there right now, and this is your chance to get them for up to 75% off. I'm eyeing Hotline Miami again -- it's $5, so I may just grab it since I've been meaning to pick it up forever.

 

I haven't had much time for gaming lately, sadly. But there is gameplay footage for Transistor now:


View: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bmlnUCK9oWI


I'm even more excited now.

 

I just watched a few trailers for the upcoming Grand Theft Auto V, and it has occurred to me that perhaps I should be playing this series.

 

Oh, I would totally start with GTA IV and on the PS3: $20 and guaranteed to run properly.

I'll wait until this new one hits the bargain bin.

It's how I roll.
--- merged: Apr 30, 2013 at 12:29 PM ---
This is all new and shit:


View: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bf38HiYPMiI