Prime Gaming 19 June 2024

Hey! I'm (more or less) back on our two-week update schedule! I'm sure
I'll be able to keep this up in the future. I'm so reliable that way
;-)

Here's what we get from Amazon Prime. Not having looked at the games
yet, I am going to predict it won't be worth the price. But maybe
that's because I'm grumpy and cynical these days. ;-)


* Star Wars Battlefront II (2005) (via GOG)
   The old classic online shooter (offline against bots too).
   Note this is not the remastered version, but the game as
   released in 2005. Still fun, although I imagine there aren't
   many players left these days, and visually the game hasn't
   aged well. But the shooty-shoot bits were fun, and -until
   "Star Wars Squadrons" released 15 years later- it was
   the most modern Star Wars spacefighter sim available.


* Blast Brigade vs the Evil legion of Dr. Cread (via GOG)
   A 2D platforming Metroidvania. Visuals are a bit cutesey
   for my liking and -honestly- the genre has never been
   that exciting to me, but it's a fair enough example of
   the type. It's also got a fairly steep learning curve,
   which doesn't help appeal to 'casuals' like myself.


* Weird West: Definitive Edition (via EPIC)
   An action-RPG set in a 'weird west' setting, a mixture
   of magic and steampunk. It has an interesting story, but
   combat isn't too smooth and the roleplaying elements are
   pretty streamlined. Could use more work on the camera too;
   it's never at a satisfactory angle. A solidly average game.


* MythForce (via EPIC)
   Say whatever else you want about this game, it's NAILED
   the Saturday morning cartoon look. Looking at it, I keep
   getting flashbacks to atrocious shows like "Dungeons &
   Dragons" and "Thundar the Barbarian". But gameplay wise
   it's less exciting; it's another coop shooter (think
   "Vermintide" or "Left4Dead") except without the cool
   level design and polished gameplay. But it sure
   looks pretty.


* Genesis Noir
   A point-n-click adventure game. Noir in style, but cosmic
   in scope. Honestly, it's just a bit too avant garde for my
   liking, and its puzzles just a bit too moon-logic for my
   taste. There's also relatively little actual gameplay;
   it's more arthouse flick with a few interactive bits
   than bona fide game. Weird, arguably wonderful... but I'm
   not sure worth playing.


* EverDream Valley
   A farming adventure game (think "Harvest Moon" or "Stardew
   Valley") except told in third-person view instead of the
   usual top-down. Pretty but glitchy, and you have to enjoy
   the genre. I'm not a fan.


* Projection: First Light
   Tell me if you've played this game before. The protagonist
   is a young child. The gameplay is that of a side-view
   platform/puzzler. The world is filled with fantastic
   monsters, which will brutally murder the protagonist if
   they get their claws on her. The visuals are very
   Chiaroscuro in style. Yeah, it's one of THOSE. If it seems
   like I keep bitching about Indies making the same game
   over and over... it's because of games like these! I mean,
   maybe it's a good game but get a new idea already!



Looking over the list above, I'm not sure my original prediction was
accurate. Okay, sure, a lot of the games on offer aren't to my taste
but they aren't any of them bad games. And being exposed to new stuff
isn't all that terrible either. I mean, no, the price Amazon charges
for its Prime service is /never/ worth it, but -at least this month-
the selection of games makes the pain a little bit more bearable.

IMHO, anyway. Feel free to hate on Bezos and Amazon all you want; I
won't object. ;-)