The Gaming Grid

Developed by a handful of guys with the intention of competing in the 2008 “Bootleg Demake” Competition at TIGSource, Gang Garrison 2 is this week’s choice for gaming on the cheap. With a recent upgrade and touch of graphical polish the game’s creators feel Garrison is “now stable enough to start telling the world about it.” It’s obvious these guys fell deeply in love with Team Fortress 2, and Gang Garrison 2 is the knock-off mariachi band they brought to sing sweet nothings beneath Valve’s window at 3 in the morning.

The game was recently upgraded to a stable version 2.0, offering players 9 uncomfortably familiar character classes to enjoy some fast-paced frenetic multiplayer action in a stylishly retro and visually distinct 8-bit style. Most of the levels are obviously Team Fortress 2 maps rebuilt in 2D, but there are also quite a few unique environments built by the team or enthusiastic community members. If the default maps aren’t to your liking (or you think you could do a better job ripping off Valve) the freely available Garrison Builder program allows anyone with a paint application to design their own custom level and submit it to the community for feedback. The team behid GG2 has so far kept the project awfully open-source, meaning interested community members can develop their own game modifications for possible inclusion in later releases.

As a work in progress the game does suffer from a few minor bugs, but the only regularly recurring irritation was the ever-present server lag which often led my tiny avatar to cross the same platforms two, three or even four times before being rubber-banded back a few steps to try again. Only one mode is currently available (Capture the Briefcase) and the classes don’t feature all the abilities of their bump-mapped older brothers, but though the team has committed to adding in features like the teleporter system, disguise abilities etc. I’m not certain GG would benefit from such development. The game is awfully well-balanced as is, and transforms what ought to be a ridiculously perverse experience (a nostalgia title for a game that saw release near the end of 2007) into a genuinely enjoyable half hour that leaves you wondering why you uninstalled the original in the first place. The program weighs in under 5 megs and can be found here.

Just a head’s up, Quake Live went into open beta yesterday. The game is free to play and runs in your browser of choice, so hop on over here to create an account and pick up the necessary files.

Look for a deeper evaluation next week, when the game is actually playable.

This episode was originally for The Man Cast. We don’t announce who we are, we just hit the record button and go. We also don’t edit, its just a nice fire side chat with A. David, Paul, and I. Well Sans the fire but you get my point. This conversation drifted to games, so A. David gave me the episode. Now I give it to you.

Have fun.

 

 Tactics Talk [30:14m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

In my very last post, I stated that I wanted more. Well looks like I got my wish. They just released a deleted scene. This is an extra level but didn’t make the cut. But the big question on my mind is a single level worth 100 XBL points. I’m sure Ill wind up getting this anyways, but it still feels like I’m being ripped off. I think if they had a little more for this DLC I would have no problem.

The pinnacle of alien evolution, Maw is a cowardly fat blob concerned mostly with snacking and lounging. He can, however, absorb the traits of anything he eats, is virtually indestructible, and can grow to unlimited size. If he wasn’t a danger to all life in the universe, he’d make the perfect pet. In this action/adventure game, he’s the best friend of our hero Frank, and only by working together can Maw eat their way to freedom. The Maw was honored with the Audience Choice Award in the 2008 PAX-10 showcase of independent games.

If only it was longer. I loved this game, there is not much to say, it’s a really fun and well made game. It has a lot of humor and Maw is a great character. If you don’t know about the game, it’s a Xbox Live Arcade game. For about 5$ you can get this game. It is your platformer game, where you are an alien creature who controls this ooze creature with lots-o-teeth.

For me it brings back feelings of Katamari Damacy mixed with little shop of horrors. As you run Maw around stages he will eat Yumms, and other interesting creatures. When he eats so many he grows. No characters or NPC have any dialogue, but it’s still a great game. When Maw eats certain creatures he will gain their powers, and that’s just half the fun. Maw supplies the majority of the humor in the game through his reactions to creatures and items in the world. Maw pulls this off with out one word of dialogue while higher budget games have problems with this.

For 5$ it’s simple its fun, you can’t beat running around and eating the world. I hope they bring some other add on content to it later. This was the first game for the Xbox that I got all the achievements to.