What Have You Been Playing... IN SEPTEMBER 2024?

September always feels like such a short month. There's just so much
going on that the days just whiz by. Maybe it's just me. Anyway, at
least it was long enough for me to get some gaming in.

Case in point:


Whereupon I list the games
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  * Still Wakes The Deep
  * The Last of Us Part 1
  * American Truck Simulator: Arkansas



Whereupon I discuss in length (and length and length and length)
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* Still Wakes The Deep
Forty-five minutes into my adventure and deep in the bowels of a
collapsing oil derrick,  I heard the monster moan, "Don't look at
me!", and all I could do is sigh to myself and say, "Oh, it's one of
_those_ games."

Not that it really was that much of a surprise to me. By "those games"
I meant "Still Wakes" to be an example of what I've taken to call the
'don't look' genre of survival horror. You know the type; you're stuck
in a dark place and there's a horrendous, invulnerable monster
stalking you; a monster so fearsome that merely looking at you will
drive you mad. Technically, "Still Wakes" doesn't hew that closely to
that genre's rules --gaze upon the monstrosities all you like; there's
no sanity meter-- but it doesn't stray too far either. You can't kill
the beasts; all you can do is hide from them.

But my tired comment was more a sigh of disappointment because I'd
been hoping that "Still Wakes" might be more than that. That it might
offer something new and unique to the genre. It was developed by "The
Chinese Room" after all; the same guys who had also created "Dear
Esther" and "Everybody's Gone to the Rapture" and were known for their
detailed worlds and ambiguous stories. There was such potential for
"Still Wakes" to be more than it was.

To be fair, the levels are gorgeous and intricately designed. The oil
rig where the action takes place all looks incredibly... well, maybe
not realistic per se, but believable, in a sci-fi Hollywood sort of
way. There's an incredible tactility to the world. Too, aspects of the
plot are as enigmatic as in any of Chinese Room's other games; is the
entity behind it all hostile? Where did it come from? <ROT13 spoiler
protection> Vf gur cebgntbavfg qrnq ng gur raq? </ROT13> There's a lot
of questions left unanswered by the end of the game, and the story is
the better for it.

It's just a shame the gameplay can't live up to the rest. Because
"Still Wakes" is completely unoriginal and unsurprising in that
regard. Once the adventure kicks off, you can pretty much predict
what's going to happen; the tactics you're going to have to take, the
scares the game is going to throw at you. This lack of originality
isn't necessarily damning... IF the rest of the game can offer
anything else. If it's gameplay is better than its competitors, or its
story is stronger or its visuals head-and-shoulders above its
contemporaries.

But "Still Wakes" isn't particularly memorable in any of these areas;
it's a dead-average game at best. Actually, some parts are fairly
tedious, and there's a number of areas where a lack of clear direction
make the game frustrating, albeit not challenging (the game is only a
couple steps above a walking sim in its lack of difficulty). There's
nothing about "Still Wakes" that makes it stand out; its gameplay
isn't exciting, its locale or monsters aren't unique, and its story
doesn't give you anything to think about. If you like games of this
sort, there are so many better ones to try (the original "Amnesia",
for being one of the first-of-its-kind, or maybe "SOMA" for its
thought-provoking story).

But what's truly disappointing is how much talent was put into this
game; that so much artistry and love was put into a product that,
ultimately, was a generic survival/horror clone. It feels such a waste
and more than anything, it's what made me dislike this game. All that
skill and _this_ is what you decided to make?




* The Last of Us Part 1
I bought the game on sale and regretted it almost immediately.

Not because "The Last of Us" is a bad game; it's not. Quite the
opposite, I rank it as one of the _best_ games in my collection. It's
got pretty much everything going for it; good story, strong
characters, excellent level design, well-developed game mechanics, an
excellent difficulty curve, very good voice-acting and music, and
gorgeous graphics. It's a highly regarded game for a lot of reasons,
and I agree with the critics: "The Last of Us" is a game worth
playing.

The problem I have with it is... I've already played it. And even on
sale, I just don't think that it justifies paying twice for it. It's a
terrific game, I tell myself... but if I'd wanted to play it again,
couldn't I have just played it on my Playstation?

To be fair, this is an enhanced version of the Playstation 3 game I
already own. It's got improved graphics (albeit the original was so
pretty, I really have to squint to see the difference). It includes
the "Left Behind" DLC. I can play the game (quite well, actually)
using my preferred keyboard and mouse. All good things, to be sure.
I'm just not entirely convinced it's worth the price of admission.

The game is proving to be a good burn-in test for my PC though. I
don't think _any_ game I've played has pushed my CPU quite as hard as
"The Last of Us". It's hard to see why it needs all that horsepower,
though; its beauty is due more to its artistry than its graphical
flourishes. I've seen better games that didn't peg the CPU quite as
high. Fortunately, I have CPU cycles to spare, and even on "ultra"
settings, the framerate was silky smooth... but I'm not really
convinced of developer Naughty Dog's PC coding skills. It seems like
they could have done more without torturing my CPU like that.

I played the game. I enjoyed the game. It's great. If you've never
played the game (and have a computer that can handle it) this version
is probably the one for you. But I can't help but feel that maybe I
should have waited for a steeper discount before buying.



* American Truck Simulator: Arkansas
Yeah, we're back with more Truck Simulator. There's a new map
expansion DLC released; what do you expect, that I _not_ play it? This
time around we get to explore Arkansas, a state about which I know
particularly little (it was home to a US President and borders the
Mississippi River; that's about it). So I wasn't sure what to expect
from this outing.

I certainly didn't expect that I'd enjoy it as much as I did.

Mostly, it was the visuals. Now that American Truck Simulator is
finally leaving the American West, we're starting to get into greener
and lusher climes. After 8 years of meandering through desert and
scrub-land, we're finally coming into forests and farms; it's so
welcome to be in a territory where the primary colours aren't grey and
tan. The developers apparently also loosened the purse strings enough
to purchase some new vegetation assets. It was a joy seeing trees
other than the scraggly pines or palms; never was the sight of a
thick-waisted oak so welcome.

But more than the change in environment, some credit needs be given to
the map designers too. Despite actually being one of the smallest map
DLCs released, ATS: Arkansas felt a lot wider and open than a lot of
the previous expansions. The roads were broader, the sight-lines
better arranged. The lay of the terrain felt a lot more natural too;
many of the earlier DLCs felt unduly flat, as if hills and gullies
were afterthoughts placed onto an unnaturally flat plain. The
topography in Arkansas felt a lot more natural. Well, most of the
time; there were areas that still seemed to use the old paradigm. But
when it worked, it worked great; it added a lot of verisimilitude to
the world.

Similarly, the layout of the towns and roads felt a lot more
realistic. I wouldn't call any of the towns of Arkansas -at least not
as portrayed in the game- picturesque, but the improved design made
them feel less like cardboard stand-ins of cities for me to drive
through, and more like places people might actually live. The addition
of so many highway billboards was exceptionally welcome; now it
_really_ felt like I was driving down an American highway!

Also, props to the developer who designed the completely superfluous
park in the city of Hot Springs. Completely useless for hauling cargo
- the road is far too narrow and twisty- it's an absolutely gorgeous
drive.

The driving in general was incredibly pleasant. The roads were, as
mentioned, wide and well laid out; there was a minimum of extraneous
turns, sudden speed limit changes, and annoying curves. In too many
previous DLC, navigating the road network was just... aggravating. I
never got that feeling in this expansion. If I've any real complaints,
it was the overuse of 'security checkpoints' outside large industrial
parks. While arguably realistic, waiting for the game to recognize my
truck is there and then slowly open the gate was a tedium I didn't
enjoy. In fact, it was such an annoyance, I think I'll find a mod that
just keeps them open all the time (I'm sure one must exist).

Overall, the Arkansas DLC was incredibly well done. The state might
not have any real jaw-dropping set-pieces, but overall it was very
good looking; enough so I often wished I could have gotten out of my
truck and just wandered down some of those inaccessible roads and
paths to see more. It actually made me consider maybe visiting the
_real_ Arkansas at some point, which I can't say has happened with any
of the other DLC in this game. It's almost certainly catapulted itself
to the top of my list of favorite ATS expansions (sorry Montana;
you're a very pretty state in real life but your DLC wasn't as good).
Rarely have I been as happy to have paid day-one prices for a new
expansion as this. Good job, SCS Software!



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Not a lot of games, but -like I said- it was a short month. It's
better than the no-games I played last month, anyway. Anyway, I'm
satisfied. But what about you?

What Have You Been Playing... IN SEPTEMBER 2024?