Be sure to vote for this game on Steam Greenlight!

Luis sent me this game the other day and the first thing I did was watch a video review, and then last night I figured I had to try it out for myself. Papers, Please is a “dystopian document thriller,” involving careful scrutiny of passports, border control documents, and immigration paperwork. It is one of the most satisfying and fun games I’ve played in awhile. Despite sounding like it’d be dull, what with checking over paperwork and matching up inconsistencies, it’s actually surprisingly compelling and challenging. AND you can download the latest build for free!

I’ve also played Lucas Pope’s other game, Republia Times (which you can also play for free here). My favorite thing about his games is how he presents social commentary in a way that isn’t judgmental or leading, but instead he simply lays it all out and allows you to come up with your own conclusions yourself. Pope has indicated that the idea for the game came from his own travels and experiences with border control, and how it might feel from the other side. In terms of moral choices, you have the power to let people in who don’t have the proper paperwork, or the power to not let in people who do have the proper paperwork. As the creator stated, “One of my motivations for making this game is to exploit the player’s morals and give them tough choices.”

Tough choices like confiscating passports makes the game far more morally ambiguous than today’s “good versus evil” games.

During my playthrough, I encountered a man with all his paperwork in order. He informed me his wife would be coming after him, and asked me to be kind to her. After he left, his wife entered the booth. Unfortunately, while she had a valid passport, she did not have a valid entry permit. I asked her about this, and she pleaded for me to let her in anyway. The choice presented was really tough, and far more emotional than the usual “good vs. evil” choice presented in most games. Here, neither choice was really correct, I just had to do what I felt was best, and I chose to let her in and take the reprimand.

The game mechanics are extremely satisfying. Clicking the stamp to approve or deny someone, moving documents from the desk to your work area, and noting discrepencies are all smooth, fluid, and easy. The graphics remind me of old-school pixel art, but without the limited palette (though within each sprite, the palette is limited, just not within the entire game). The simplicity of the graphics combined with the muted colors really remind me of old Soviet propaganda posters, which are some of my favorite designs throughout history. The game feels stark and very cold, and the atmosphere makes the moral choices somehow feel even more compelling.

To be perfectly and sadly honest, I didn’t think this game was going to be worth buying when it comes out for real. I figured the novelty wouldn’t outlast a few hours. But today I’m already itching to play it again. I was actually really surprised at how interesting it is. I definitely think Lucas Pope is a fantastic game designer with a great attitude, and I definitely voted for it on Steam Greenlight (and you should too!).

(as an aside, if you are at all interested in the development or process of games, his dev log is quite interesting!)

Okay, I’m going to give VERY slight spoilers of the game that won’t ruin the story, but will ruin the premise, so if you want to go into this game knowing absolutely nothing about it (as I did), stop reading now.

So anyway, I actually started playing and got past the first part and now I can’t set it down. The premise is that 9 people (persons) are kidnapped by some person in a gas mask and put aboard an old (think Titanic) cruise-liner. The windows are boarded, the doors are locked, and the characters have 9 hours to escape from the ship before it sinks. There are, however, numbered doors – 1 through 9 – and the characters come across sets of these doors (the first set they find is 4 and 5), and must pass through them to find door 9, and when they go through door 9, they’ll escape. Sounds simple enough, right?

Except for one problem – each character has an assigned number as well. And they must pass through each door 3-5 people through each door, and the digital root of their numbers must add up to that door’s number.

Example: Person 3, 4, and 7 decide to go through a door. 3 + 4 + 7 = 14, 1 + 4 = 5, so they can only pass through door number 5.

The realization of what this means hit the characters hard when they realized that the 3-5 rule meant they would have to sacrifice 4 people along the way at least, because not everyone could pass through the last door together. When this realization hit, I nearly threw my DS (this is what I do when something happens that I find to be amazing).

So basically this is a game, a game of life and death, a creepy game where I don’t know how and I don’t know why, and I have grown to like and appreciate all the characters, and each are completely different and memorable, and 4 of them have to die.

Not to mention at more than one point, they will come across doors where the numbers don’t work out.

It’s utterly brilliant. If you enjoy visual novels, puzzle games, or even just a really good story, and if you can find a copy of this online or at your local game store, pick it up, because it’s worth it.

Me, I was able to log in for about an hour starting at 1:45am eastern, but then I decided to log out and log back in at 2:30am because my guild was experiencing some issues. Big mistake. I haven’t been able to log back in since (tried until 3:30, then again at about 7:30, and again now, and still no dice). Honestly, it’s alright – I’m not at all upset about it. I’ve got other stuff I have to get done this weekend – all I really cared about was 1) getting into the server of my choice and 2) nabbing some sweet sweet character names, and I was able to do that (whoever already claimed Encyclopedia Brown, you’d best be careful because Bugs Meany is on your trail, mate).

(just in! I was able to log in as of 11:10am edt)

The best part of all of it was the Twitter posts. Arenanet shut down their forums while all of this went down, for obvious reasons, so the only recourse was to pester them on twitter.

@guildwars2 I just paid 80 bucks to wait an hour on a confirmation email! This is so exciting!Seriously, send my registration info please.

— Mike Rhodes (@Realmikerhodes) August 25, 2012

Honestly, @guildwars2, remind me why I pre-purchased for early access? Have yet to be able to log on. Very unimpressive.

— Mickey Gomez (@mickeygomez) August 25, 2012

The Guild Wars 2 launcher is nicely designed. Maybe I’ll just review that.

— Andy Kelly (@ultrabrilliant) August 25, 2012

It’s hard to be a gamer, guys.

I feel like I’m missing out on a ton of really amazing JRPGs because I avoid this genre of game. I’ve always been a fan of old-school RPGs – turn-based (or ATB based), stat-based Final Fantasy/Suikoden/Tales of/Dragon Quest style. Nowadays, everything tends to lean to either Action RPG (which I love), hybrid tactics (like Radiant Historia, Ultima, and Valkyria Chronicles), which I tend to avoid for the most part, and Tactics RPG (which I hate), so I’m missing out on a ton of really amazing series, like Devil Survivor, Disgaea, and Fire Emblem.

I have the GBA Fire Emblem from the 3DS Ambassador Program, and my brother gave me a copy of Jeanne D’Arc, so I won’t be risking anything to just force myself to actually give them a fair shake. I’m not really into anime but for some reason JRPGs have a strong place in my heart, and I want to play all of them! I loved Radiant Historia, at least, and Devil Survivor hits all of my sweet spots in terms of what I love in a game, aside from the tactics. I really want to like them!

There’s a sneaking suspicion I have that perhaps I just don’t like tactics games because they tend to be fairly difficult. I once watched a friend play Fire Emblem for the Wii on the hardest difficulty, and it was like watching a really scary movie – so tense that you want to close your eyes, but you can’t look away either because you need to know what happens next, and then when it’s finally over, you feel like a ball of adrenaline and you can’t relax for hours.

I’ll definitely report back after I’ve put a few hours into Fire Emblem. Do you like these types of games or not? If you like them, what are some good games I should try to ease myself into this genre?

Sorry about the total animu of that picture. I didn’t want to look up any other pictures (SERIOUSLY DON’T if you’re going to read a Let’s Play of this game) for fear of spoilers. I am serious – if you want to experience this game, watch or read a Let’s Play online and do not look up any pictures, videos, or fanart outside of the Let’s Play.

With that out of the way, let me explain. The premise is the protagonist, Makoto Naegi, was the lucky person who was randomly chosen to attend Hope’s Peak Academy, a highly prestigious high school that only accepts people at the Super High School Level. Naegi was chosen to be Super High School Level Good Luck, which means he has no special talents at all other than being randomly chosen. Other attendees to the school are stuff like Super High School Level Idol, Super High School Level Hall Monitor (yes), and Super High School Level Wrestler. There are a ton of characters, and they’re all important.

As soon as Naegi arrives at the school, however, he blacks out, and when he awakens, all the windows in the building are bolted shut so he can’t see out, and the front door is barred with a huge metal Fallout-style gate. He and the other classmates meet Monobear, a creepy toy bear, who tells them that they must learn to live in peace in the school, and they will never be allowed to leave until they graduate.

Graduating from the school, of course, involves killing one or two other students without being caught. Gameplay involves walking around the school, talking with your classmates, until a murder occurs. Then, the game moves into trial mode, where you must investigate, collect clues, and then, Phoenix Wright-style, figure out the murderer and prove who it was.

As you can imagine, the game is violent, disturbing, and emotionally draining on so many levels. The game’s creator explained that he wanted to create a murder mystery where you actually care about the characters, and as you play (or read/watch, in my case), you definitely grow to feel an emotional connection with all the characters. It’s haunting and stays with you.

I can’t say for sure, but I suspect with the recent popularity of this game due to the Let’s Plays of it, there may in fact be an English fan patch for the game released at some point. If it does, I will definitely be buying the game and playing with the English patch.

Here is the Something Awful Let’s Play, but you will probably need a membership to read. Memberships are $10. It’s well-worth it though. If you don’t want to buy a membership, definitely wait for the patch! It’s well worth it.

Go free games!

The thing about Diablo II in particular was that it was such a unique game. Everything from the dark atmosphere to the free online play really made the game stand out. I remember when I first heard about, it seemed like such an incredible thing – really? Free online play? What was this madness? Remember – 2000 was right when the Internet was really starting to become mainstream, and that was also when Everquest cost $10 a month to play. It seemed like we were living in the future.

Now it’s 2012 and Diablo 3 is the most pre-ordered game of all time on Amazon and Blizzard. I seriously appreciate that they retained that millenial feel so common in the early Diablos and games like Baldur’s Gate. You know what I’m talking about – that bubbly, jeweled, ornate HUD. Say what you want about Blizzard, but they are pretty good at making the games they really want to make.

In the end, even though I personally don’t understand the Diablo fuss, I know what it’s like to be hyped for a game. I can’t wait to see the excitement and enjoyment that comes from the release.

What’s your favorite part of Diablo, and what are you excited about for Diablo 3?