Technica October 2014 by Technica Magazine

october 2014

technica MINIMUM There's absolutely nothing minimum about it!

TRANSISTOR A super giant comeback in the city of Cloudbank

How To Enjoy Counter Strike: Source Weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ll show you how to avoid ragequitting CS:S

Among the Sleep Horror in baby blue overalls and nightmarish dreamscapes! Among the Sleep will definitely stir you up

what is

technica ? We l c o m e , r e a d e r s , t o t h e f i r s t i s s u e o f Te c h n i c a m a g a z i n e !

H e r e i n Te c h n i c a , y o u ’ l l f i n d n e w s a n d r e v i e w s o n d i f f e r e n t k i n d s o f v i d e o g a m e s ; w e’ l l g i v e y o u e v e r y t h i n g y o u n e e d t o k n o w f r o m f e a t u r e s t o n e w r e l e a s e s — b u t t h e r e ’s a c a t c h . We d o n’ t s h o w y o u j u s t a n y v i d e o g a m e . We s h o w y o u g a m e s t h a t a r e n’ t t r i p l e A t i t l e s . Yo u s e e s o m e t h i n g y o u l i k e b u t i t i s n’ t f r o m a m a j o r g a m i n g l a b e l ? T h a t ’s w h a t w e ’ r e h e r e f o r ! We t e l l y o u w h a t w e think so you can try it out for yourselves. W h a t e v e r a g e y o u a r e , Te c h n i c a w i l l c a t e r t o g a m i n g e n t h u s i a s t s o f a l l a g e groups looking for refreshing games that deser ve more spotlight. Of course, w e a r e n’ t r e s t r i c t e d t o j u s t u n d e r g r o u n d g a m e s . We ’ l l s h o w y o u a l l o f t h e g o o d s t u f f , p o p u l a r o r o t h e r w i s e . We ’ l l b e p l a y i n g , t e s t i n g , a n d c r i t i q u i n g g a m e s f o r your viewing pleasure. E v e r y m o n t h , w e’ l l b e f e a t u r e d a n e w u n d e r g r o u n d t i t l e f o r y o u t o d i g i n t o, a s w e l l a s d i f f e r e n t v i d e o g a m e s w e’r e l o o k i n g f o r w a r d t o. O p e n t h i s m a g a z i n e a n d y o u ’ l l f i n d a b u n c h o f s e c t i o n s , s u c h a s S e l e c t ( t h e g a m e s w e ’d h i g h l y r e c o m m e n d ) , L o a d i n g … ( g a m e s w e’r e d y i n g t o p l a y ) , R e p l a y ( t h r o w b a c k s t h a t n e v e r g e t o l d ) , a n d B o n u s S t a g e ( g a m e s t h a t f i t i n t o a t h e m e ; f o r t h i s i s s u e , i t ’s Halloween)! B u t h o w d o w e d e c i d e h o w t o r e v i e w t h e s e g a m e s ? E a s y. We p l a y t h e g a m e s , then we decide on how good (or bad) the gameplay is, the graphics, presentat i o n , p l o t l i n e s , r e p l a y a b i l i t y, t h e o v e r a l l s c o r e , a n d - m o s t i m p o r t a n t l y - i t ’s v a l u e f o r m o n e y. R e a d o n a n d s e e f o r y o u r s e l f !

ntents

Bound For The Stars (A Starbound Review) by Luigi Arce

Select D D

wellers

Torchlight Review) Luigi Arce

ungeon

Squares, Lines, and Flaming Swords (A Minimum Review) By ian David

DLC How To Enjoy Counter Strike: Source by Ian David

Replay Crash Team Race by Angelo Fernandez

Bonus Stage Rock-a-Bye Baby (A Among The Sleep Review) by Angelo Fernandez

checkpoint A W eapon W ith C haracter (A R eview

by on

R iver C ruz T ransistor )

luigi arce “Self-proclaimed Dovahkiin, member of the Brotherhood of Steel and Sandbox-Freeroam game enthusiast.”

P1 julia benito “There are no words to describe how much I adore virtual farming.”

P2 river cruz “My anacondo don’t want none unless you’ve got selfrespect and a great personality, hun.”

P3 ian david “My Bulbasaur has thunderbolt.”

P4 angelo fernandez “I’m not really an avid gamer, but I do like playing and reviewing games. Especially horror.”

P5 S

contributors

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T h e

g a m e s

By Luigi Arce

t o

w a t c h

f o r !

starbound

tarship out of fuel, on the run from bounty hunters, and above a distant and unknown planet; sound familiar? A likely scenario in science fiction games, “Starbound” takes a whole new spin to an already tried and tested formula. Currently in open alpha testing, Chucklefish Ltd.’s “Starbound” is a two dimensional, procedurally generated universe sandbox game. Players create their own starship captains and customize their species, appearance, and personality. After which, your captain is left marooned over an unknown planet with nothing but your starship and a few basic tools. From then on, players traverse planets, discover different kinds of weapons, armor and other species around the universe. “Starbound” plays out as a two dimensional platformer game. This creates some limitations in terms of gameplay, but this is where the game’s building mechanics really come into play. Alongside the player owned starships, characters can colonize planets and build on their surfaces using the

o u t

various raw resources found on the planet. Players are free to create vast structures with relative ease due to only a four directional axis rather than a three dimensional game. Also very noticeable, the game’s art style takes influence from past indie and retro pixel games. It’s very unique art style has a very old school retro game feel, while still being a very modern game. “Starbound” has no true storyline however. Once the game’s basic tutorial is completed and the player knows the basics of the game, gamers are free to explore the universe to their heart’s content. This gives Starbound endless possibilities and infinite replayability. With its quirky and lovable art style, endless sandbox possibilities and a whole universe to play around in, “Starbound” is definitely for the explorative and adventurous gamer. Rest assured, countless hours will be wasted as players continue to reach for the stars and find fame, fortune and become the most powerful starship captains in the universe. ¶

TL;DR +

Retro Art Style Customizable Character Model

To o l o n g ; D i d n â&#x20AC;&#x2122; t r e a d ? Hereâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s the rundown.

Still in alpha testing phase Glitchy multiplayer

Hundreds of in-game Items Almost infinite number of planets to explore

4.5/5

t c e l se g a m e s

t o

p l a y

( a n d

w h y ) !

torchlight dungeon dwellers

By Luigi Arce

he great mining city known as Torchlight is in regular, runt of the mill dungeon crawler game. However, danger. Vast swarms of vile creatures pour out this clearly isn’t the truth. Torchlight’s story focuses on of the depths of its mines looting and pillaging Ember, a mysterious ore that has the power to enchant villages all throughout the land. Who better to stop these items with magical powers. The city of Torchlight is built monsters than the lone hero? “Torchlight” is a bird’s eye upon a large vein of Ember, and all is well until one day, an view three dimensional dungeon crawler. Having been in- ancient monster is awoken. The player must dive deep into fluenced my previous dungeon crawlers like the “Diablo”, the dungeons of the Torchlight mines and eliminate the at first glance; one might think that “Torchlight” is your corruption that has taken over the mining city.

Players first choose between three hero characters; the Destroyer, a melee combat, close quarters brawler with the most amount of health, the Alchemist, a fast, magic focused summoner/spellcaster, and the Vanquisher, a ranged weapon trapper character mostly focusing on ranged combat. Players develop their characters as they delve deeper into the Torchlight dungeons finding new weapons and armor. Gameplay wise, “Torchlight” follows a non-linear dungeon style mapping. This means that players can reach their goal through various differing ways, each with different

monsters and rewards. This means that the replayability factor of “Torchlight” is extended, much like many MMO’s of today. Another factor to add to “Torchlight’s” replayability is the game’s large modding scene. The PC version of “Torchlight” allows extensive modding by players. Currently, over a thousand different modifications exist for “Torchlight”, some focusing on gameplay mechanics, adding new items and even adding whole new player classes and storylines. “Torchlight” has even garnered a sequel named “Torchlight 2” which continues the story of the lone hero, this time with new playable classes, items, armor and weapons. ¶

TL;DR +

Amazing Particle Effects and Colors HUGE PC Modding Scene

To o l o n g ; D i d n ’ t r e a d ? Here’s the rundown.

Repetitive Dungeons Lack of Classes

Crisp and clean gameplay mechanics Non-linear story

4/5

minimum

squares, lines, and

aving absolutely nothing minimum about it, “Minimum” is an online third person shooter that features elements of video game genres such as real time strategy (RTS) and role-playing games (RPG). It is set in a minimalistic universe with no exact story, but greatly appropriate for a game like this. Presentation seems fluid, everything’s made out of pretty much squares and polygons, but the presentation makes each and every map and player look beautiful. The sound and effects featured in the game are unyielding and unbelievably strong. Not just because the main menu music just blasts through your ears, but every sound effect is appropriate for the situation you’re in. Impaling someone with your katana? You can confirm that by hearing the end result. Got shot by a sniper? It’s not the sniper’s fault. You heard the bullet a mile away. Although sometimes it tends to be difficult to hear a specific

f laming swords

By Ian David

person, as you’re too caught up with the battle and there’s too much going on like flying bullets and exploding bombs to filter any singular person out. The gameplay of “Minimum” is what separates it from retro pixel games such as “Ace of Spades”, and puts it among the ranks of games such as “GunZ: the Duel” or “Quake”. It’s quick. It’s fast-paced. You immediately jump into a game and start shooting, but what differs in “Minimum” is how it features RTS and RPG elements. Your player is just a simple block-man, or so I’d like to call it. Before every game, you can go to your main menu and change you’re the loadouts for your weapons. There’s also no really permanent leveling system other than the overall level of your block-man, and right now the only thing that the level allows you to do is to allow you to buy higher leveled items in the shop. Like a

multiplayer online battle arena (MOBA), it levels in the game. There are daily missions as well to increase the experience you gain. Your block-man is like an average Joe, so the edge he gets in the game are the secondary abilities his weapons offer him. There are a variety of abilities, such as shotguns that let you dodge and jump higher than the usual person, and katanas that let you rush in front of your enemy to take care of him quick. The possibilities are diverse and you can pretty much come up with any tactic that fits your playing style. The game also features a crafting system, where you can acquire blueprints for armor and weapons and craft them using in-game currency you earn from winning games. The game aims to highlight one of their game modes called Titan. In this game mode, the competition isn’t just focused on the different players in their teams, but now they have to focus on gathering resources by killing creeps so that they can power their Titan. In a sense, it gives off that MOBA vibe by making you farm for creeps alongside the danger of getting killed. The game also has two other game modes, good ol’ Team Deathmatch where players are split into two teams and rack up kills and another one, that I actually find very amusing: horde mode. In horde mode, you team up with other players to literally take down baddies such as robots and dinosaurs. Who doesn’t love that? “Minimum” is quite fast paced, and like “Warframe” you’ll have people jumping crazy like ninjas executing people silently and you’ll have campers

TL;DR +

Polygon and block-like graphics are a plus Fluid and fast-paced combat Easy to “pick up and play” and just gun some baddies Interesting game modes Minimalist map

as well just staying in one spot getting headshots. All in all, gameplay for Minimum is what you expect in a lot of fast paced shooters. Replaybility is amazing. The game has a rather big playing audience even if it’s an indie game, you won’t have trouble finding matches, although you might experience some fluctuations in waiting time at some point. Given that there is no plot whatsoever, the joy in “Minimum” is that it can be your go-to game if you want a short run-‘em gun-‘em session for a short while. It is currently in early access on Steam and can be purchased for PHP319.25 at the moment. Don’t worry though, as the game will become free to play once it has officially launched. ¶

To o l o n g ; D i d n ’ t r e a d ? Here’s the rundown.

Incredibly difficult to shut down a player once they’ve leveled up all their weapons Crafting system is somewhat confusing and obscure Far fetched’ atmosphere

4/5

DLC U

HO W TO EN JOY CO UNTER ST RIKE: SO URCE

who you’re playing ALL the time. And also, sometimes the aesthetic value is in question. Do you want playing as a halfnaked dude all the time, or a really bad-ass looking SWAT cop? Oh, that one dude looks like Rambo too you know. Step 2: Don’t get used to it. Be flexible.

Don’t get used to playing the same character over and over again. Experiment, yes, they may be just character models, and only other people can see them, but I’m talking about the CT and T roles here. You need to know how to defuse a bomb, and how to plant one. Also, one thing I cannot stress enough is to please know what team you’re on. Sometimes, I end up playing as a CT too much that when I get transferred By Ian David to the Terrorist’s team, I still keep shooting the Terrorists. re you trying to expose yourself to the world of first Talk about friendly fire. person shooter video games? Don’t know how to start because there’s literally over hundreds of video Step 3: Know your ropes when it comes to weaponry. Pew pew.

games featuring your hand holding some sort of firearm and shooting it at someone? Well, don’t worry, because this how to guide will show you on how to “enjoy” (see how I particularly put the word “enjoy”? Haha, we’ll get to that later.) and start you off with one of the most classic first person shooter games that is still being played competitively until now, Counter Strike: Source. If you didn’t know, Counter Strike: Source is a PC game in which the camera view is in first person and you have objectives such as planting or defusing bombs. Yes, we’ll be there for your baby steps in the path of making you an FPS master. Step 1: Know whom you’re playing as. In Counter Strike: Source, you primarily play as either a Counter-Terrorist, or a Terrorist. You have be aware of

Does the map need someone to scout from high ground, or do you need someone to recon and do the fieldwork close range? You need to adapt to the situation to what kind of weapons you are going to need to buy. Don’t bring a knife to a gunfight when you know everyone’s either holding a grenade or a gigantic machine gun. You can’t throw you’re knife you know. Well, maybe you could, but you can’t really do that in-game. Step 4: OHH MYY GOOOD WHY IS HE FLYYIINGG MY BULLETS AREN’T DOING ANYTHING. Never. EVER. Use any form of hacking and cheating. Please don’t be obvious when you’re doing it as well. No one wants to see you flying around like your Neo or Superman. They’re only going to get disappointed that the bullets they’re try-

ing to put through your head at point blank range feel like they’re made out of those material that make sofas. Either way, they’ll realize in the end that you’ll probably get banned by whichever server you join anyway. So it’s a lose-lose situation, right? Step 5: Please, for the love of……please aim. You know that little cross-shaped symbol you see at the center of the screen? That’s your crosshair. (Sorry, that sounded like such a childish explanation. You should know what a crosshair is!) It’s that tick thing that you aim at someone and shoot so you’re accuracy is top notch. Yes, about that. Please don’t just spam you’re bullets and just keep shooting. As you shoot faster and successively, the crosshair becomes bigger and makes your shots less accurate. You’re not Scarface. Either way, you know how he ended up. It’s like he was never aiming at that last scene, don’t you think? Step 6: Don’t take your voice commands for granted. FUS RO DAAAHH Okay, maybe you’re not a really a Dragonborn (Don’t get the reference? Oh poop.) Don’t ever belittle the voice commands. They are so useful. You’ll never know when you’re

in a tight situation and you have a split second between knowing the difference between life and death. Are you really going to type a message and let your guard down? Nope. You use a voice command to easily communicate with your teammates. Step 7: Be fabulous. CUSTOOMMIIZZEEE The wonderful thing about Counter Strike: Source is that everything is so customizable. From your skin, to your weapons, to even the maps, it’s no wonder why it’s still played until now. It’s an outlet for such creativity. You want a map where there’s nothing but Pikachu’s lying around. YOU GOT IT. Oh, you want your handgun to look like a Nokia 3310? YES PLEASE. Either way, both are good weapons to use in a gunfight, haha. Step 8: Don’t let tilt run through your veins. Tilt is actually a term used in poker. It’s where you’re in a state of mental confusion and frustration that you end up making a lot of bad decisions due to your anger. Try your best not to let the “tilt” overcome you. Even if worst comes to worst, you’ve died 2048 times and the bomb you’re trying to defuse has exploded on your face more times you can count, just remember that you’re just playing this game for fun. You can always take a break, collect your thought, and then play again when you think you’re a little okay now. ¶

C H E C K

P O I N T

t n i Hh o T p N k O c M e E ch TH on Wit F O E R U EAT

A Weap

ideo games have become the type of entertainment medium that rarely allow the player to stop every once in a while just to take in the minute details lying within the world of the game in hopes of keeping a steady fast and frantic pace giving the player an instant high of gratification and exhilaration. While this isn’t at all inherently bad it’s this sort of hyperkinetic stigma that gives video games that simple stupid fun visage that taints its reputation for being a truly respectable art form in terms of both storytelling and intelligent social commentary. Although from time to time there are those games that come out that people bring up whenever there is a conversation regarding video games being art and I’m glad to say that Supergiant’s Transistor is one of those. Level 1: Story The story of Transistor takes place in a glorious futuristic city named Cloudbank which is decorated with colorful glass and shining brass machinery. As you progress through the game it is very apparent that the citizens of the city have been given complete creative freedom that range from having the choice to color the sky into any pigment of their choosing and even the ability to vote as to what type of weather they would be having the following week. Within this advanced world of choice and freedom lives the game’s protagonist Red who is a

ter C h a ru az c r River C

popular singer and performer known for her sharp lyrics that many people believe carry deep meaning regarding both the social and political state of the city. This of course makes Red’s music quite controversial and makes her a target of a secret sociopolitical group known as The Camerata who plan to assassinate Red with a soul stealing blade known as The Transistor, but the plan is later foiled as it only steals Red’s voice and instead kills a man who sacrifices his life to save Red and whose identity is unknown to the player. The game’s beginning picks up from their as players take direct control over Red as she tracks down the Camerata and fights armies of dangerous cybernetic swarms known as the Process while the voice of the unknown man chimes in constantly narrating and voicing out his thoughts through the Transistor itself making it the only recurring voice in the game. This situation forces the player to piece the plot together almost by themselves treating them as respectable and intelligent human beings. What’s ingenious about how the player is exposed to the world and story of Cloudbank and its intricacies is by not simply telling them through exposition or endless lines of dialogue/cutscenes, but rather by showing them through the city’s live news updates and the biographies of the recently deceased citizens of Cloudbank among other things which really give the city a life of its own as if the world already existed prior to the game being played and it adds a sense of believability and undeniable charm to

T RAN SISTO R

the fictional world. The story itself can get a bit vague and ambiguous at times especially around the final act where the ending explanations feel a bit rushed and hurried in there, but the overall impact of story isn’t completely hindered by these problems and it still wraps it all up nicely albeit quite hastily. Level 2: Presentation Transistor excels in all fronts when it comes to the games presentation. The art style and design of the games is masterfully done creating an experience that is both visually stunning and captivating. The shining city of Cloudbank has obviously been fully thought through and the design of the city itself from high rising towers and skyscrapers above to the urban and narrow alleyways below is proof of the game designers’ hard work and attention to detail. The game itself is set in a fixed angle that really shows off the often vast horizon while sometimes giving an up-close view of the danker areas of the city, but because the camera is permanently angled in such a way it does sometimes obscure the action as the player faces off against an enemy behind a structure or wall. But despite that one gripe Transistor simply screams intelligent design. The same can also be said about the game’s fantastic music and sound design. Red’s journey towards defeating the Process and taking down the Camerata is accompanied by both upbeat techno music and serene almost bossa nova like guitar playing in the background. Darren Korb, who also wrote and composed the music for Supergiant’s previous hit

game Bastion, did a fantastic job on Transistor somehow truly capturing the essence of technology gone awry and a not so bright future populated with mystery and political conspiracies and intrigue. Interestingly the original soundtrack for this game is out on Steam and I listen to it constantly. Of course the center piece of the entire game is Red’s tangible relationship with the man whose soul and voice is trapped within the metallic confines of the Transistor and the voice work by returning voice actor Logan Cunningham, who also voiced the narrator in Bastion, is simply phenomenal giving Red’s unnamed protector a endearing personality and witty charm which lends to developing and fleshing out both the voice in the sword and the protagonist. Level 3: Gameplay Transistor is an over-head perspective action RPG and plays very much like the developer’s previous game Bastion with the exception of the ability to freeze time and queue Red’s attacks and movements strategically and with precision adding a whole layer depth and originality to the already tried and true action RPG formula. Later on in the game Red is later provided with different skills giving you the option to use the new skill either as a primary skill for the transistor, an upgrade for preexisting skills or a passive skill. All three options have vastly different effects and can really affect anyone’s play through making each player’s experience with the game vastly unique and different. The great amount of possible combinations may be over-

whelming to some players at first, but the game actually encourages experimentation giving incentives if the player successfully uses a skill as a primary skill, an upgrade skill and a passive skill thus allowing the player to try all types of approaches and maybe even find a favorite combination that wouldn’t find otherwise. Things can get a bit hectic with a lot of things happening on screen at ones and the fact that the camera is fixed in a sort of skewed over-head point of view which sometimes obscures battles as enemies or items sometimes hide behind structures or walls doesn’t really lend to the fluidity of the combat, but in the grand scheme of things it’s a very minor complaint and doesn’t at ruin the experience as a whole. The game is very short (I fin-

ished it in a day) and the somewhat rushed ending could’ve benefitted from maybe a couple more game time for a more detailed explanation, but thanks to addition of a new game plus mode that allows you to replay the entire campaign with all your upgrades and with stronger and much tougher foes right out off the bat the replayability is pretty up there as it adds at least 6 to 8 more hours of extra game time. The game itself is a polished work of art that demands to be experienced not just through its gameplay and even its story but also with the mood and atmosphere it sets with its impressive artistic design and moving soundtrack. Transistor is another homerun. ¶

TL;DR +

Beautiful artistic design Intelligent skill and upgrade mechanics

To o l o n g ; D i d n ’ t r e a d ? Here’s the rundown.

Fixed camera issues Should’ve spent more time on the ending

Profound storyline

4.5/5

K i c k i n g

I t

O l d

S c h o o l

W i t h

CRASH TEAM RACING By Angelo Fernandez

ou’ll recognize this racing game right away when you hear the words “Start your engines for another Sony Computer Entertainment production!” It’s almost impossible not to think of Crash Bandicoot. And when you think of Crash Bandicoot, you think of Crash Team Racing, or CTR. And if there’s any racing game that peaks my interest, I will almost always say that it’s CTR. If you aren’t familiar with this game, I strongly urge you to grab a copy of this game and give it a try. No other racing game could come close to CTR. Mario Kart, Diddy Kong, and Chocobo Racing might have been strong contenders, but CTR possesses this charm that’s kept me coming back to play it even to this day. CTR was released in the year 1999, just a couple of years after Diddy Kong and Mario Kart. At first glance, it looked like just another racing game that put together elements of Mario Kart and Diddy Kong together to create a generic and saleable game to make profit. But What wasn’t expected was the amazing audience rapport that it managed to garner. CTR is almost like every other racing game out there. It’s got the variety of playable characters, over world (like in Diddy Kong), various power ups while in mid-game, and the racing itself. CTR was almost like a copy of the first few racing games out there (i.e. Mario Kart). But, despite

the generic content, gameplay, and structure, CTR managed to gain amazing audience rapport (and it certainly did) that made it stand above some of the best racing games of its generation. What makes CTR stand out, I believe, is the replay value of the game. If you look at any successful game, you look at its replay value. Other racing games were charming yes, but it didn’t have that unique charm that CTR had. Crash team racing was a relaxed, even bouncy and goofy, game that made racing enjoyable and memorable. The graphics of CTR was something that drew me towards it as well. Diddy Kong was also polygonal in terms of graphics, but it didn’t have that smoothness that CTR had. The race tracks were something new in the kart racing genre. Most race tracks on other racing games share elements (such as speed boost tracks that speed up the racer), but the way these were presented in CTR is what gave the racing game its challenge and charm. Moving obstacles, sharp turns, and that exciting drift feature in the game made racing all the more exciting. In all honesty, CTR is a combination of completely unoriginal and cliché concepts of racing games that have been well packaged into a saleable game. But, who cared if it was chock-full of such ideas? CTR was a fun and memorable racing game. And in my opinion, I can say that CTR was the best racing game in its platform (if not among the consoles). But even in that, CTR manages to overtake other racing games. It’s just that good. ¶

REPLAY

s u E n G o A B T S A G a m e T h a t S u i t s T h e T h e m e

T h i s M o n t h : H a l l o w e e n !

among the sleep rockabye baby

f you’re looking for a horror survival game with an interesting twist, then perhaps playing such a genre in the shoes of a two-year old might just be what you’re looking for.

By Angelo Fernandez dreams and reality is blurred, almost as though one becomes immersed in a hyperreality.

“Among the Sleep” is a first-person survival horror game, yes a first person survival horror, based on the perspective of a two year old child. After being put into bed after his second birthday, disturbing and mysterious events begin to occur. “Among the Sleep” manages to recreate how a

“Among the Sleep” begins with your character’s celebration of his second birthday. Things appear to be awry with your mother and father (as it is heavily implied in the initial sequences of the game). As night falls, you are put into bed and are subsequently separated from your mother. As the game progresses, the toddler is drawn to this dark and eerie fantasy world that is the product of

two year old child sees the world- with a colourful and limitless imagination. For a child, the division between

a child’s active imagination. The environments gradually develop into more ominous ones as you dive deeper

into the story. The ultimate goal of the game is to be reunited building up as the story reached its peak. Despite this, the with your mother, you must venture through this hellscape game becomes more psychological than horror. of a dreamland and retrieve four memories of her which are Much of the interaction that you’ll experience throughout scattered throughout this world. the game will be pulling out drawers as stairs, activating If you think about it, the game has tinctures of psychologiswitches, and collecting items that will aid you throughcal trauma and horror as the dreamscape constructed by out the game. Other than that, there really isn’t that much your character may be a response the ailing relationship of interaction in the game. Maybe after your first couple of your parents in the game. A two year old child can barely hours playing the game, it gets too repetitive predictable, walk and speak at all, therefore a way for your character to and tiresome. make sense of things is through the interpretation of his Overall, “Among the Sleep” is a great horror, survival, and dreamscape. The ending of the game was heart-wrenching, psychological game that manages to draw its players into but it didn’t have enough weight to make an impressionthe game. However, the game lacks a bit in the story since able impact. The overall presentation of “Among the Sleep” the ending does not make such a strong and memorable imwas impressive. The game managed to create an atmosphere pact. Though the game may lack slightly in the horror factor that looks, sounds, and feels like what a two year old might (considering that the game relies mostly on shock tactics), be experiencing. The dreamscape of your character is very it is not shot of richness in terms of the environments. If well designed, almost to a point that it looks disturbing and you’re into the psychological thriller type of games, then frightening. The transition from a mundane and safe envi“Among the Sleep” is definitely the game for you. ¶ ronment to a chaotic and frightening one is seen gradually

Insert coin to continue

november

2014

TECHNICA Dragon Age: Inquisition The wait is almost over! News and updates about the latest installment of Dragon Age

Journey A journey into the best game of November

Harvest Moon: A Lost Valley Farming fans rejoice for the lastest installment of the Harvest Moon series is soon to release!