Under the Ocean

Back in 2010, I wrote a little piece about Paul Greasley's brilliant survival game Under the Garden. Since its release, the survival genre has really taken off and now Paul is back with a new game - Under the Ocean, which builds on many of his previous game's features.

Paul has been joined on this project by Michael Reitzenstein, Chris Geehan and Philippe Martins and although still in Alpha, Under the Ocean is already looking polished and plays extremely well.

The game has moved away from the rugged mountain terrain of Under the Garden and takes place on an island, complete with tropical storms and a cave network. By using and combining items washed up on the beach and scavenging the island, your shipwrecked character attempts to survive for as long as he can. That means making a spear to harpoon fish, finding flint and dry leaves to make a warming campfire, sawing planks to create wooden structures and filling buckets with fresh rainwater to keep thirst at bay.

Visuals in this early build are wonderful, with fluid animation and spectacular lighting and weather effects already in place, while Chris Geehan's gentle music is reminiscent of bands such as Hammock and fits the game perfectly.

On top of the main game, there's a sandbox construction mode, where you can futz about and build a whole heap of stuff, including a house, complete with fireplace and windows.

To access the Alpha, two packages are available. For $7, you can download the Pretty Cool Silver Bear Edition, or the Super Golden Bear Edition for $25, which comes - as you would expect - with a raft of added extras.

I've really enjoyed the few hours I've spent with Under the Ocean and I can't wait to see what the team add in future updates. For more details, visit the official website here.

This week's indie round-up

Flug GB
Flug GB is a super cool retro style platformer which reminds me of Sonic the Hedgehog and Amiga classic Super Frog. Only one level is available to play at the moment, but gameplay is exactly what you would expect, with blocks to smash, gems to collect, platforms to negotiate and lots of enemies to stomp. With its neat 8-bit soundtrack and sound effects and GameBoy-style visuals, Flug the Slug's adventure if definitely worth keeping an eye on.

Anodyne
Another game influenced by the GameBoy is Anodyne - specifically Link's adventures on Nintendo's much-loved hand-held. It's beautifully presented and gameplay will be instantly familiar to those who have spent time with classic Zelda games of the 8 and 16-bit eras, with the lead character, Young, stepping on switches, collecting keys from battered old chests and defeating enemies to open gates and doorways.
Special mention goes to the soundtrack, which flits between eerie and unsettling, to beautiful and uplifting and gives the game a rather wonderful atmosphere.
Anodyne is due to be released before the turn of the year on Windows, Mac and Linux and it is also eligible for Steam's Greenlight, so pop on over and give this the thumbs up.

Ghost Racer
Due for release any day now is this latest game from Physmo. It's a far cry from their brilliant platformer Mos Speedrun - another game you should vote up on Greenlight - but early indications reveal it has the same 'one more go' factor. It's obviously a racer, but while a casual glance at the screenshot might indicate a frantic arcade racer in the style of Super Sprint, the cars in Ghost Racer have a much more weighty feel, ensuring essential use of the brake to get the best times. While Mos Speedrun featured multiple ghosts of your previous attempts to beat the level - here, ghosts of people's best laps from around the world are shown snaking their way across the tarmac. Trying to keep up and even better these ghost times is utterly addictive and when you add your Game Center friends to the list, the challenge becomes an obsession. I was given early access by the Physmo team and trying to match their times has given me hours of fun already.

Look back: Kirby's Epic Yarn - Wii

Twenty years ago, Kirby - Nintendo's squishy pink blob with a voracious appetite - made his debut in Kirby's Dream Land on the humble GameBoy. In the years since, he has been a regular fixture in Nintendo's catalogue, appearing in several games including Super Smash Bros, but none have quite matched the brilliant Epic Yarn, his 2010 platforming adventure on Wii.

The story is typical twee nonsense about Kirby's journey to Patch Land, but it's the stunning visuals and fresh gameplay twists which make Kirby's Epic Yarn such a joy. Patch Land is quirky and beautiful, with environments stitched together by thread, felt, patterned fabric, layers of hessian and patches of textured material.
But rather than simply used to create a backdrop for Kirby's comfy, laid-back caper, these lush environments can be manipulated to reveal secrets and trigger unexpected results.

Pulling zips reveals items in the scenery, yanking on shiny buttons crumples the landscape to create ledges, while Kirby can squirrel himself underneath cloth covers, creating a small lump in the scenery.

Previous games in the series focused on Kirby's ability to hoover up enemies and take on their special powers. But as he is now made from a strand of pink thread, this signature move is redundant. Instead, Kirby can morph into various shapes and an assortment of delightful vehicles to explore Patch Land.

On his travels through this plushy world, Kirby can also collect sparkling beads which can be used to buy items for the residents of Patch Land, while hidden collectables and felt covered CDs lie hidden away, waiting to be found by those of an inquisitive nature.

Even the world map is a visual treat, with Kirby looking on as secret doorways take shape in spectacular style thanks to a range of brilliant animations after each successful run.

While the visuals are some of the best and most creative on Wii, it's the captivating soundtrack which sews the whole experience together - it even manages to trump Mario Galaxy 2's spine-tingling score and the electronica-tinged themes from sadly overlooked RPG Opoona - with piano tinkles, strings, flutes, maracas and drums used to create a distinctly Charlie Brown vibe.

Holding the Wiimore horizontally controls Kirby but when motion control is called upon, the results are something of a mixed bag. Putting out fires by adjusting the angle of the controller while in the guise of a fire engine works well, but drawing tracks for Kirby to puff across when he takes the form of a train is an awkward kerfuffle. Thankfully, these episodes are kept to a minimum and are the only missed stitch on an otherwise perfect pattern.

Kirby's Epic Yarn may be easy to complete, but that doesn't detract from the experience. Playing through the game is a genuine treat and its laid-back trappings make it the perfect game to kick back with on rainy Sunday afternoons.

Bursting with creativity in both visuals and gameplay, Kirby's Epic Yarn is a wonderful experience. It's imaginative, utterly charming and an absolute delight to play.

Dragon's Dogma - Wolves hunt in packs!

I love Dragon's Dogma. Actually, scratch that. I ADORE Dragon's Dogma. Yes, the game which many thought would simply be yet another generic high fantasy adventure - including me - actually turned out to be a magnificent achievement by the team at Capcom.

I've just hit the 50 hour mark and for me, it stands head and shoulders above everything else I've played all year.

It's given me some of the most wonderful experiences over these last 50 hours and watching my small ragtag band of surprisingly dextrous travellers attacking monstrous beasts has given me a huge amount of pleasure.

Highlights include a gargantuan battle at dusk against a chimera, where lightning bolts, thick black tornadoes and jets of fire turned the tide in my favour; a night time battle against two hulking trolls at their makeshift camp; and an epic and nerve-shredding assault on a fort which gave the spectacle of Helm's Deep a run for its money.

Holding it all together are the wonderful visuals. There's a solidity to the world of Gransys which even the sprawling might of Skyrim fails to match and a sense of setting out on an epic adventure which so few games have managed to portray effectively.

The lighting effects are at times subtle but immensely effective - from the first grey light of day splitting the horizon, to the late afternoon sun sending golden shafts of light filtering through the trees in the heart of a deep forest. It's mesmerizing and these shifts in colour and hue help give Dragon's Dogma a spellbinding atmosphere - as does the eclectic soundtrack which ranges from rousing orchestral passages and haunting string arrangements to full-blown cock rock nonsense.

And unlike some other games where a day/night cycle simply means a change to the colour scheme, Dragon's Dogma makes tramping around at night a truly terrifying experience, sending the wary scurrying for the nearest campfire and nervously huddling together until dawn.

It's a remarkable game. It's as if director Hideaki Itsuno and producer Hiroyuki Kobayashi set out to make a western-style RPG and instead stumbled across something even better. It's like a perfect fusion of Skyrim, Monster Hunter and Dark Souls and it's magnificent.

All this and I forgot to mention the forgery shop, the barbers, the cross dressing, the creepy court jester, the seemingly endless supply of quests and the fact your trusty sidekick plays a role in other people's games online and returns home to tell you all about what they discovered - usually with a couple of mouldy apples in his pockets for his troubles. Amazing.

Here's to the next 50 hours.

Foam - PC

Over the last few days, I've ploughed around five frustrating hours into Assassin's Creed III. I'm not sure why I bothered. At this stage, it just feels like a re-skinned version of what has gone before and although my Twitter chums tell me it takes anywhere between 6-10 hours for things to open up, I'm really not sure I have the time, patience or inclination to bother going any further.

The antithesis to Ubisoft's big budget trudge is Foam - a quirky little indie game by Stwelin, which has more fun wrapped up in its first 30 minutes than those five wasted hours with Assassin's Creed III.

While Ubisoft's blockbuster has revealed worryingly familiar tasks such as leaping from the top of high places into tiny bales of hay, Foam's colourful world has seen me turn into a one-eyed spiky purple mushroom, interact with strange looking characters, crawl through a tree's interior and receive a telling off for not being able to swim.

It's initially unclear what your objectives are but it only takes a couple of minutes to discover the game is all about exploration and experimenting with objects and items squirreled away in Foam's eerie isometric world.

Objects stumbled upon change the lead character into a range of new guises, which allows the player to explore previously inaccessible areas of the world. It's this gameplay quirk which makes playing Foam so interesting - despite some rather fiddly controls.

I'll say no more for fear of spoilers, but it really is a magical and thoroughly absorbing little game and it's also free, so why not give it a try? Download it here

I Remember The Rain

I Remember the Rain by Jordan Browne is a rather splendid interactive story which deals with pain, loss and despair - which is all neatly wrapped up in the space of a few minutes.

Interaction with other characters is limited but Browne has given the tale a tremendous amount of atmosphere thanks to its mournful score, blocky pixel art and moving narrative.

You can download I Remember The Rain here

Skyrim - camera at the ready

I've been mixing Skyrim mods from the Steam Workshop with the magnificent selection over at Skyrim Nexus, Not only that, but tonight I discovered the PC version has a free-roam camera. As a result, I've spent much of my Saturday evening taking more pictures. Here are four of my favourites from tonight's travels.

Pokemon Mystery Dungeon: Explorers of Sky - DS

I love mystery dungeon games, with Shiren the Wanderer being a particular favourite. However, this latest addition to the Pokemon series doesn't come close and is remarkably similar to last year's Explorers of Time/Darkness. 

Taking control of a Pokemon of your choice, the player wades into a series of randomly generated dungeons, seeking out special objects and defeating evil pocket monsters. It's presented well, but aside from a couple of new features, Explorers of Sky is virtually identical to the last two DS games.

A real shame and a wasted opportunity to broaden this type of game's appeal. If you are interested in mystery dungeon titles, track down a copy of Shiren - it's a far more rewarding game, packs a challenge and has a huge amount of replayability. Alternatively, pick up a copy of Chocobo's Dungeon on Wii. Both these games leave Explorers of Sky in their dust. One for Pokemon diehards only - and it might just be heavy going for them, too.

NiGHTS into Dreams HD - Return to Nightopia is only a few weeks away

I have very fond memories of the Sega Saturn and in particular, long evenings spent playing NiGHTS into Dreams with that wonderful, circular controller. The combination of bright visuals, smooth gameplay and an amazing soundtrack blew me away and I spent hours memorising levels, stringing chains together and perfecting swooping runs through Nightopia.

So when it was announced NiGHTS was to receive the HD treatment for 360 and PS3, I was overjoyed. Today it was announced the game will be coming to Europe on both platforms in the first week of October, so only a few weeks to wait. But even better news was close behind, with the announcement that players will also be given access to Christmas NiGHTS, which was originally given away as a demo disc via special promotions back in the mid-Nineties.

While this festive version of NiGHTS only features two levels, it used the Saturn's internal clock to change aspects of the game. As the 360 and PS3 are always online, I really can't wait to experience these time-sensitive unlocks in glorious HD.

And with Jet Set Radio HD only a few days away, there's plenty for Dreamcast fans to get excited about over the next few weeks.

Look back: Shaun White Snowboarding: World Stage - Wii (from November 2009)

Last year’s Shaun White title appeared on multiple formats. I reviewed the PS3 version and was left underwhelmed due to a host of control issues and the bland racing action. This year, Ubisoft have released the follow-up exclusively on Wii and the game is all the better for it.

World Stage can be controlled via Wiimote and nunchuk or Balance Board and all set- ups work extremely well. No matter what your preferred option, controls are fluid and intuitive and it’s a pleasure slicing through the powdery snow or pirouetting off a ramp into the icy night air.

There's a good variety of courses and events, and via the in-game airport hub, the player sets off on a globe-trotting journey in their quest to become the No.1 snowboarder in the world.

World Stage has a distinctly kid-friendly approach and includes a raft of cartoony characters and has a bold colour palette. Impressive camera shake and a nice blurring effect when hurtling down mountains at speed also add to the neon-tinged visual style.

It may not be the most comprehensive take on the sport, but World Stage proves to be an above average ride and one of the better examples currently on Wii.

More Skyrim shots - PC

I've spend the last few days falling back in love with Skyrim, thanks to a bunch of fresh mods. I have more than 70 running now and I'm incredibly impressed with the results. I've only done two of the main quests and I'm spending most of my time exploring and going about things at my own pace.

I've downloaded a camping mod which lets you set up a bedroll and tent anywhere in Skyrim and since I've banned myself from using fast travel, it's a godsend. I've also installed a Zelda music mod which replaces the soundtrack with a variety of classic Zelda themes, along with sound effects which are used in menus and when you level up. It gives the whole game a lighter feel, although when exploring dungeons, the music swiftly changes to Zelda's dungeon themes. You might even spot a Zelda reference in one of the screens below.

I have a bunch of graphic and texture mods installed, too, which not only add detail to the countryside, but also dramatically improve the main cities and towns. I've added some new armour and weapon mods, which makes crafting much more fun. I even have a Monster Hunter weapon pack installed and my character is sporting a huge two-handed Rathalos Great Sword.

Click on the images for the full size versions.

Fishing Resort - Wii

While Japan and the US have been enjoying Fishing Resort/Family Fishing on Wii since last year, there is still no sign of a European release on the horizon. It's a real shame, as Yuji Naka's open-world take on fishing looks rather good.

Not only can you walk, cycle and sail through the game's appealing environments trying your hand at fishing for 200 species in a variety of locations, you can also take on quests, stroll through your own aquarium, modify your character, buy new equipment, explore the resort at your leisure and take on 20 additional mini-games.

With the Wii region locked and data loaders now redundant due to Nintendo's firmware updates, it looks as if this is one catch which will unfortunately slip through the fingers of European gamers.

There's no mention of Fishing Resort on Namco Bandai's release schedule for the remained of this year, while it was XSEED Games who released the game in the US.

What a shame.

Back in the air with FSX

Despite the fact I've just dropped 1200 Microsoft Points on the Alaskan Wilderness expansion pack for Microsoft Flight, it's their previous entry in the series which continues to give me much more pleasure.

Because of the closed nature of MS Flight - Microsoft charge for additional content via in-game purchases - the modding community has been bypassed entirely. A shame, as various teams and individuals continue to produce eye-popping add-ons for Microsoft's previous games in the series.

I've always enjoyed adding new texture meshes to the Flight Sim series but my creaking old computer never really did them justice. So to celebrate the arrival of my new PC, I decided to treat it to some new software for FSX.

The first item on the shopping list was to choose something from Orbx - a company who produce some remarkable scenery and texture meshes to enhance FSX. They have six packs on offer - Australia, Pacific Northwest, Pacific Fjords, Northern Rockies, Central Rockies and South Island: New Zealand.

I plumped for Pacific Northwest, which covers 156,000 square miles of western North America, comprising of large parts of Oregon, Washington, and British Columbia.

Next, I bought Rex HD - a complete weather, environment and flight planning add-on. With this programme, you can choose from a huge range of weather and lighting effects and, used in conjunction with Orbx products, ramp up FSX's enjoyability ten-fold.

I've been taking a lot of pictures as I fly around the Pacific Northwest - currently I'm exploring the areas around Victoria - which I've included here. I've also been using the iPad's map feature to plan routes and identify mountains, lakes and other points of interest.

So although Microsoft Flight might be the new kid in town, it pales in comparison with what can currently be achieved with FSX.

Pock's Friend - PC

Japanese indie game website Playism launched their English language site last Friday and along with a bunch of titles which can already be found on Steam, Gamersgate and Desura, there are several games which make their debut on the site.

Free-to-play adventure Pock's Friend was released back in 2008 but it's taken until now for me to discover it. It immediately grabbed my attention thanks to its beautiful hand-drawn visuals by artist and programmer Akira Noyama and although it only takes around 30 minutes to complete, it is packed with more than enough charm to melt even the iciest of hearts.

Pock is a lonely lad who lives in the middle of a forest. He has no friends and can't experience emotions as he doesn't have a heart. But while moping around the forest one day, Pock has an Alice in Wonderland moment and finds himself in another world. Here, he meets Tam, a horned demon and the pair tramp off together on a journey in which Pock finds the true meaning of friendship.

Pock's Friend is a point and click adventure, but the format has been stripped back so there's no inventory system. Instead, clicking on objects and the environment moves the adventure forward. Sometimes a click will have a purely cosmetic effect and part of the fun is poking around and seeing what will happen.

There are even a few puzzles thrown in for good measure, including spot the difference teasers and rotating jigsaw conundrums.

The art style is beautiful and reminds me slightly of Lovedelic's off-the-wall PS1 game Moon: Remix RPG Adventure, while the short soundtrack gives the game a lovely atmosphere.

Pock's Friend may be short, but it's a genuinely touching experience and as it's browser-based, the journey is the perfect accompaniment to an afternoon coffee break.

You can play the game here

Richard & Alice - PC

Earlier this week, Lewis Denby and Ashton Raze very kindly sent me an alpha build of their debut game, Richard & Alice.

The guys, along with Kyra Hills (character art) and Yonatan Luria (music) have been working on this project in their spare time, and although this is early code, their debut offering is looking very promising.

In the 30 or so minutes it takes to explore this point and click adventure, a genuinely interesting plot begins to unfold.

Set in a world which has been devastated by intolerably harsh weather conditions, Richard is a grizzled war veteran who has been imprisoned since he disobeyed orders in the madness of a bloody civil war. While in his cell, he unexpectedly meets Alice, who has recently been jailed for murder and via a series of well-told flashbacks, we get a glimpse into her background story.

The point and click interface could well change in further updates, but what's here at the moment works well. There's no stuffy inventory system to wade through, with everything clearly mapped out on the right-hand side of the screen. Every item's relevance in the environment is logical and by eschewing overly complicated item combos, Lewis and Ashton allow the player to make quick progress and concentrate on the intriguing story.

The team have peppered the alpha build with wonderful teasers which draw the player into Richard and Alice's weather-ravaged world. Who scribbled the mysterious notes found in a long-abandoned house? Who is the oppressive figure trying to keep Alice and her son under lock and key? And whose blood is it that's splattered over the walls of a family bathroom?

Richard & Alice is penciled in for release later this year and thanks to its well-written dialogue and compelling storyline, I'm very much looking forward to seeing more of this extremely promising game.

To keep up to date with Richard & Alice's development, head over to the game's website where the team will keep you updated. Definitely one to watch.