Video games are on vacation at the moment. New releases may be few and far between, but Power Up Gaming have been assured that video games will continue later in the year. Think of this as a mid-season break before the finale finally rolls around. Either way, there are still small scraps out there for us to play while we wait.
Furi
I’ve fallen for this game pretty hard this week, although I’m not very good at it. After breezing through the first three bosses, the game has started to kick my arse, to the point where I’m not progressing much faster than one boss a day. This is in no small part thanks to the tutorial which, as I found out last night, doesn’t teach you everything you need to know. Instead, the game hides away some of its advanced mechanics in the How To Play menu, some of which make your life a lot easier in the later levels.
Minor gripes aside, Furi is still an incredibly fun boss rush game. It focuses on intense, long-form encounters that take on multiple stages of combat. Some of these are close quarters matchups, others turn into bullet-ridden chaos, but the majority of them are captivating duels to the death. Even the run up (sorry, walk up) to each fight is designed to get you pumped, like a boxer walking to ring for his next challenge. All in all, I’m very impressed, even if I never quite master it.
-Adam Lloyd
Wasteland 2: Director’s Cut
One of the great things about games is how they put a mirror up to your face and show you the type of person you are. Maybe you’ll discover you value vengeance over pragmatism, or mischief over morality. Or maybe, you’ll be like me in Wasteland 2 and find out you’re the kind of person who will ALWAYS press a big red button, even when there’s a sign saying not to. Even when said button is on an atomic bomb. Roll credits.
Premature ending notwithstanding, I’ve quite enjoyed my time with Wasteland 2. For years I’ve wanted two things from the Fallout games: a less goofy world, and the ability to control all my characters. Wasteland 2 might fail rather spectacularly on the first (screaming goats, anyone?), but the squad-based combat is solid, and very challenging. It feels like they took everything I liked about Fallout: Tactics (ok, the only thing I liked) and combined it with everything that made Fallout 2 great.
Now if you’ll excuse me, I’m going to go blow up some monks.
-Owen Atkinson
The Technomancer
This game’s had pretty polarising critiques since its release in late-June – described, for better or worse, as a wannabe Mass Effect. What I can say is that even though there is quite a bit wrong with The Technomancer – notably from a technical standpoint – I find myself enjoying it more and more with each passing session. I’ve now soaked enough hours into the game that I can look past the protagonist’s questionable monotone voice-acting as well as the actual lack of significance given to the role-playing mechanics – despite being labelled as an RPG.
But there are positives to the game amongst so much criticism. I’ve just completed the first stanza in The Technomancer and its plot is driving the game’s enjoyment quite effortlessly. There are strong political undertones to The Technomancer, which was something I wasn’t expecting, and the backdrop of a late-21st Century Mars settlement is out of the ordinary when it comes to science fiction in video games.
Of course, the kicker of The Technomancer is being able to wield a pseudo-lightsaber and using it effectively with the game’s sprawling skill trees and manageable combat system; this is as close as I’ve been to a Jedi without playing Star Wars. No doubt The Technomancer is an acquired taste but, so far, I’m digging it.
– Hayden Waugh