What developers can do to ruin a good horror game.

I'm probably not the only one, but I've noticed a decline in the quality of mainstream horror games of lately. For a while I couldn't quite figure out why. The games are still full of creepy monsters, or unnerving foes. They're still set in atmospheric locations that you wouldn't fancy visiting on your own, and if anything they're even more gruesome. So why aren't they scary anymore?

I remember certain games that weren't even supposed to be scary being absolutely terrifying. Take Tomb Raider (the original, not the re-boot) for example - when I was a kid, at times that game got so tense when my health was low I literally couldn't continue. I was just too scared, I'd have to get someone else to continue for me, or at the very least stay in the room with me until Lara's untimely-yet-inevitable demise. One rogue Tiger, one missed ledge, and that was it, dead Lara. 

So, these days games are produced to be as user-friendly as possible. Death in video games just doesn't sit well with some folk. They die, and they think "I'm terrible at this, I'm not winning, it isn't fun. I won't buy any more video games". The huge money-grabbing corporations know this, and they have provided an answer - health regeneration.

Whilst health regen has it's place in certain games, it just doesn't click with horror games. Best way to make someone fearless? Make them feel invincible, which leads me on to the next point - weaponry.

Again, looking back to Tomb Raider, like medikits, ammo was gold-dust. You conserved every round, and only took shots if completely necessary. Another game that did this well was Resident Evil 4. Whilst ammo was less scarce, the "briefcase" inventory design limited you to carrying a realistic amount. Horror games just aren't scary if I'm storming through wave after wave of zombies like a minigun wielding beserker. I want to care about every bullet, not spray & pray because I've got enough bullets to sink a cargo ship.

And what's worse than one indestructible walking tank of a protagonist plowing through dozens of evil critters with ease? Two. Horror games should be about Isolation. I don't want a wing-man who's got my back at every corner. (What have you done to Resident Evil 6 Capcom?) The only instance in which a companion works in a horror game is if they're vulnerable and you need to keep them alive. Yeah Ashley was a pain in the arse in Resident Evil 4, but looking out for her added a new dynamic of urgency to the game. Better yet, complete isolation - I want to feel like there's no help coming, that the protagonist is the last person left alive, and I am deciding whether he retains that honour.

Horror games for me are all about the immersion created by pseudo-realism, anything that breaks the immersion breaks the tension & fear. One of the worst culprits of this, in horror, is the soundtrack. A little ambient music, or random sound bytes are fine, but a Disney style orchestral score hammering out in the background whilst you're chased down a corridor by axe brandishing cannibals just ruins this for me. I don't want an action movie sound track. Ideally in the above scenario, I'd like to hear the protagonists panicked breath, his footsteps, the cannibals' footsteps, and perhaps their maniacal laughter or insane ranting. Nothing more, nothing less. 

The other immersion breaker is death itself. Not actually dying, that happens, and happens a lot when I play. But the lack of consequence after death. It makes for a carefree attitude. That guy in the hockey mask just put a machete through your skull? No problem! Respawn with full health and ammo, just far enough around the corner to give you the advantage next time. Again this phenomenon was borne of major corporations wanting to reach a wider audience. I understand that without that audience, video gaming wouldn't be what it is today. But at what cost? The permadeath of a genre? A constant stream of sequels that are essentially the same game with different box art? (Disclaimer: The previous sentence in no way alludes to Activision).

You want to know the scariest game I've played lately? Probably not but I'll tell you anyway 'cause it's my blog and I can. Minecraft. There, Minecraft has it all. Health doesn't regenerate, hell, you even starve to death if you don't regularly eat. You have weapons and items that aid in your survival, and every single one is of high value cause of the work you've put in to obtaining it. I guess the weapons and armour in Minecraft can get a little overpowered in the Overworld, so guess what? Check out the Nether, or The End, no matter how OP you are up top, life gets hard there. The sound design is perfect, you can hear yourself, your surroundings and you get the occasional random music which is both eerie yet soothing. 

Finally, death. Death in Minecraft sucks, especially if you happen to fall in to lava and lose all your Diamond kit. You care about keeping well fed, you care about not running blindly in to a cave, you care about staying alive because death has consequence. 

I hope that one day Resident Evil & Dead Space quit trying to be action games. That zombies don't get so over used they are actually scary, and while I'm on the subject, that one day people decide that sparkly vampires are a f*cking stupid idea too. 

7 Tips for surviving in XCOM: Enemy Unknown

I've been playing a lot of XCOM: Enemy Unknown recently and to begin with, I really struggled. It's frustrating when you take a soldier out on several missions, he gets some nice shiny promotions and then takes a plasma bolt to the face. So, here are some of the ways I've managed to increase my survival rates:

1. Never "Dash" unless absolutely necessary 

Sure, "dashing" covers more ground, but you'll be sorry if you run in to a pack of angry Mutons and have no option of retreat.

2. You don't always have to move.

Can't get "troop A" in to cover without dashing? Don't move it if you don't need to. Scout the area out with a unit that's able to get in to cover near the position you want to move to "troop A" to. If you can't do this, consider which unit you'd least miss should they be KIA, which leads me nicely on to point 3...

3. Personalise

Name your troops after friends and family, make them look as much like them as possible. It's fun telling people about their exploits in the XCOM world (at least, for me it is -_-). It makes you more committed to keeping them alive. On the flip-side, recreate that bitch from work that you hate and use her as cannon fodder.

4. Invest in Snipers

Whilst I found these to be the initially weakest class, towards the endgame, they're invaluable. A good Sniper is worth 2 of any other unit type. With all of the abilities unlocked, a sniper is easily capable of 2 kills per turn.

5. Use Snipers like Snipers

Hang back with your Snipers, try to get them on high ground where possible. Always keep them in cover.

6. Overwatch

So, you've moved and can take a shot with a 30% chance to hit, or you can Overwatch and have a much higher chance of a hit if the little green dude moves. I know which I'd choose. Always use Overwatch if in doubt.

7. Research what you need to survive, not what you need to progress.

My first play-through ended in an embarrassing defeat, see the screenshot for proof. This is because I gave priority to the research that said **PRIORITY**. The bad dudes got bigger and better while I was still rocking standard weapons and armour. A big no-no. Second play through I had Carapace Armour and Laser Weapons before I even considered fulfilling the first story objective.

I'd like to say it was going well up to this point....

So, there's my 7 tips. There is an 8th tip, but it only applies if you have the Elite Soldier Pack DLC, and that is to colour-code your all of troops' armour by class. It helped me no end learning to identify which troops were able to do what.

Warmachine: Tactics - From Table Top to Desktop.

Finally it's happening, a tabletop game is being translated in to a video game.

Now I know many will point at some of the numerous Warhammer 40k video games, but here is where Warmachine: Tactics differs. It's staying as true as possible to it's tabletop roots. It's not turning in to a RTS and it's not turning in to a third person shooter.

Whilst you may not be rolling virtual dice (speculation here, but I think it's safe...), the game will be a turn-based tactical shooter, on a squad-based level. And it's looking beautiful.....

Image courtesy of http://www.warmachinetactics.com

As a fan of Turn-Based games, the only game I keep comparing this to, or hoping it will be comparable to, is none other than the amazing XCOM: Enemy Unknown. Some of the screenshots show assorted places to take cover, I am hoping for some kind of "cover mechanic" to be included in Warmachine: Tactics

Image courtesy of http://www.warmachinetactics.com

Image courtesy of http://www.warmachinetactics.com

The game has been extremely well received on Kickstarter, and at the time of writing has smashed it's original funding goal and is currently at 197% funded. With a remaining 10 days, things look promising. Some of the still locked stretch goals are looking very appealing, *cough*co-op mode *cough*. More information about the game and the stretch goals can be found on the Kickstarter page here: http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/409030043/warmachine-tactics

However, we won't know the full extent of exactly what will be included in the game until the Kickstarter campaign is finished, and we won't know if it's any good until it's released. Until then, I have high hopes.