QCF: Chasing Aurora

Broken Rules has volunteered to be the forerunner of independently developed game for the Wii U, an admirably brave task considering that larger, more experienced studios have been skeptical of their own ability to significantly take advantage of the Wii U’s potential. Nintendo's new console excels at offering a cavalcade of dynamics in a multiplayer setting, evident by the direction of Nintendoland.

Broken Rules therefore staked their hands at creating their software that centered on a competitive theme with their imaginative take on the philosophy of flight through the portrayal of paper art in Chasing Aurora. While the cliché of an indie studio taking the humble route in order to concentrate all production value towards the creative process and to convey a deeper meaning through a solid game mechanic, the Austrian studio takes this trait to heart, and it works both against them and in their favor in the end.

Click to read more ...

QCF: Hairy Tales

There's often a fine line between what makes a good and bad puzzle game. While some puzzles can be deceptively hard and rewarding in certain games, other puzzles for some reasons can just be frustrating. And when a game is made of nothing but these challenges, you better be sure that they're fun and well designed, because without anything else, a pure puzzle experience just doesn't have much to fall back on.

Hairy Tales is very much one of those pure experiences. It's a cheap little game that's all about its main mechanic and little else. And while that can be commendable for a pure gameplay centric title, sometimes it just doesn't work.

Click to read more ...

PPR Presents Indiedrome: Episode 2: They Bleed Pixels Interview

This week on Indiedrome, Matt and Stevie sit down with the guys that brought you indie-hit They Bleed Pixels! 

First, we talk to Miguel Sternberg, creator of TBP and Spooky Squid games. Stay tuned after for another segment with the game's music composer Shaun Hatton AKA DJ Finish Him.

And don't forget to save your game.

Click to read more ...

QCF: Primal Carnage

Is it just me, or has there never been a truly great dinosaur game? Turok doesn't seem to hold up and the recent Jurassic Park game received poor reviews from both critics and fans alike. On the surface, this doesn't seem like a valid issue or concern. But when you think about it, these prehistoric creatures would make perfect cannon fodder for any videogame, and it's a damn shame that I can't think of any fantastic dinosaur-centered games.

Enter Primal Carnage, a first-person multiplayer Steam title that aims to give players the thrill of hunting and becoming the lethal predators that stalk various media. A thrill which, unfortunately, has a lot of problems scattered amongst its few fun moments.

Click to read more ...

QCF: Hotline Miami

Today I snuck up on an unsuspecting goon, knocked him over with a door, got onto the floor and smashed his head in against the bright neon walls. Afterwards I picked up the nearest shotgun, emptied it onto a floor of ignorant baddies and knocked over the last guy by throwing my heavy weapon while his back was turned. And then his friend who I had forgot about came up behind my back and smashed my brain all over the floor with a baseball bat. After a couple more tries I succeed in killing every last scumbag and made my way to the next gripping and intense floor of mayhem. I do this not only because this just so happens to be some of the most well designed and fun combat I’ve played recently, but also because the telephone told me to.

This is Hotline Miami and I hope you’ve left your morals at the door.

Click to read more ...

PPR Presents Indiedrome: Episode 1

I listen to a lot of game podcasts and despite the unique personalities and points of view you get over a wide swath of shows about games, eventually they all tend to run together. Game journos on podcasts like the Giant Bombcast and 1Up's Games Dammit will discuss the games they're playing, but they most often end up all talking about the same games. Everyone has to play their AAA titles and talk about them, because that's just what's popular. Occasionally they'll spend a little bit talking about an indie game if it's big enough like Braid or Super Meatboy, but for me it just wasn't enough.

Click to read more ...

QCF: Joe Danger 2: The Movie

Lights, Camera, Cliché! As the mine cart’s wheels begin to bellow with friction against the tracks, Joe finds himself back in the spotlight filming his very own movie. Pretty sweet gig, too, unless you count the grenades and lava pits. Hello Games is at it again with the sequel to 2010’s PlayStation 3 timed exclusive indie hybrid of Trials and Excitebike; and while the original Joe Danger offered a straightforward take on racing with some platforming, Joe Danger 2 takes that that concept and accelerates it to new levels of depth. The result, however, concludes to a sputtering mess when the dust all clears…

Click to read more ...

QCF: Retro City Rampage

I’ll give this to Retro City Rampage; it delivers what it promises. Retro City Rampage begins as the protagonist, Player, travels back in time to the 80‘s -- the time nerds won’t let us forget. Following orders from the crime boss Jester (reference) and the absent-minded Doc Choc (reference), Player must complete a series of missions to rebuild a time traveling Delorean (reference) and return to his own time. Along the way he’ll kill, steal, and quote the hell out of anything that stands in his path.

Click to read more ...