Has there ever been a developer you want to love, but can’t simply because its games were not for you? For me, that team was Media Molecule. For the longest time, I was able to appreciate the LittleBigPlanet series from a distance, but found the act of playing it less than enjoyable. It allowed players to express their creativity in remarkable ways, leading to some entertaining user-created content, but it ultimately wasn’t for me. Recently, it released its first Vita title, Tearaway. LittleBigPlanet demonstrated some of Media Molecule’s undeniably charming ambitions, but Tearaway feels full to the brim with its specific brand of creativity.
Territory control is a tried and true game mechanic. Usually these types of games feature a military conflict, each player wresting control from the others via show of force or trickery such as in Risk or Small World. But direct player conflict isn’t often a theme of European game design, opting instead for more passive tactics like obstruction. Terra Mystica (published by Z-Man in the US) not only eschews combat, but also puts the focus on the terrain itself. READ MORE
Contrast is an interesting game. I wish it were a better game, because the setting is great, the characters are interesting and the soundtrack did something that few others do: it caused me to stop playing, so that I could better appreciate the music. It’s held down, though, by what all games need to be successful: gameplay. READ MORE
Whether or not you’re a fan of importing games, nothing can really beat playing something in your native language. It’s sometimes hard to know just what is going to make it to the West and what isn’t, though. In our inaugural edition of the Guide’s Localization Radar, we’ll take a look at the likely candidates to get picked up. READ MORE
The holiday season is a good time to look back, so Jeff, Chris, Andrew, Graham, Lucas and Henry talk about the year’s biggest events and how they’ve changed the way we play games.
Check out the show here, check us out on iTunes or use the RSS feed in your favorite podcast aggregator. Let us know what you think! Email podcast[at]snackbar-games.com.
Hosts: Jeff deSolla, Chris Ingersoll, Andrew Passafiume, Graham Russell, Henry Skey, Lucas White. Music: Podcast theme by Tom Casper.
