PixlBit

Better hop to it.

Ever since the Atari 2600 debuted in 1977, it's been fairly customary for at least one game developer to bring something new to the table just in time for the launch of a new gaming system, or soon after. In 1995, developers Exact and Ultra gave us a little ditty called Jumping Flash-- a game with roots that can be traced back to Exact’s previous 3D platformer Geograph Seal on the Sharp X68000. I remember playing a demo of Jumping Flash back in 1996. After a few minutes of leaping and smashing enemies on impact, I knew I was in love.

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You never forget your first.

It seems like there’s a fairly big movement to get back to the roots of first person shooters lately, with games like Toxikk, Xibalba, and even the Doom franchise returning to the mechanics and sensibilities that started it all. Wrack began this journey six long years ago and has almost reached its full release. If you have great memories of those early “Doom clone” days, share one with us in the comments and you can win a copy of Wrack on Steam! To get things started, some of the staff has shared their own. Just add your memory from those early corridor-stomping days in the comments, no matter how brief, before August 19^th at noon Eastern time and you’re entered to win one of five Steam codes for Wrack!* 

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One giant leap even smaller step into the content of this series.

I want to heap praise upon Moon Chronicles - Episode 1 for being the fantastic FPS nobody was asking for on the 3DS, but it’s tough to do so when there’s so little content. There’s no question that what’s presented is entertaining – it’s graphically sharp, it controls well, and it channels both Metroid Prime and Perfect Dark. However, clocking in at just a bit over an hour, just as you’re getting hooked, Episode 1 comes to an abrupt close.

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The good not-so-old days.

As developers of the Battlefield games, DICE should know how to recognize a good multiplayer map when they see one. After Jason Brice posted his first attempt at a Battlefield map on his personal website, DICE swooped in overnight and told him they wanted to make it an official piece of DLC. From that point onward, Brice has been making maps for multiplayer shooters, and now he’s working on his very own full game, Rekoil, to put all of his training to another big test. I got to play several rounds of a capture the flag type match-up when I was at QuakeCon and had Brice at my side to share what he hoped to accomplish with Rekoil. 

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The douche bag sim you never knew you wanted.

I never expected to become so enamored with a game where you inhabit the body of the hugest douche bag to ever visit the South Pacific, but it happened.  After suffering through a fairly irritating opening sequence, you eventually find that you are free to explore the Rook Islands at whatever pace you desire.  In some of my early self-paced explorations, I decided to stealthily capture an enemy outpost.  Hiding in the bushes and taking stock of what foes lay within the compound, I heard the loud roar of a tiger that charged into the outpost and slaughtered everyone inside while my knife and gun remained completely unused.  I conquered that outpost by letting the game’s systems collide and work in my favor.  These types of situations happen continuously in Far Cry 3 and whether they were to my benefit or demise, it’s always a blast to witness.  It’s these interacting systems that make Far Cry 3 a special experience that is worth playing, despite the grating narrative.

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