Three Cups of Tea

Three Cups of Tea is not the kind of book that I normally read. Normally, I read fiction: science fiction and fantasy being my top two genres. One day, I saw this book lying around and decided that I would read the first few pages. Those pages hooked me, and I started reading a little each night until I had read it all.

This book did a few things for me, beyond entertainment:

1. It helped me to have a more unbiased opinion of Pakistan, Afghanistan, and the Muslim faith. I don't think of myself as someone who is prejudices or a bigot, and I tend to be accepting of other people, faiths, and cultures, but this helped to dispel some of the propaganda put out by the American media. This book showed me that there are good and bad Muslims, just as there are good and bad Christians, Buddhists, etc. 
2. It helped me to realize that the best way to combat terrorism and extremism is through a balanced, non-extremist education. I would really like to help to fund the Central Asia Institute if I ever have enough money to do more than just provide for my family's needs.
3. It made me want to be a more charitable person, working for causes beyond my own immediate needs and wants.

In short, I can highly recommend this book. It details the journey of a flawed man doing extraordinary things for some of the most needy people in the world, without much thought for his own safety or well-being. It is interesting and motivating. Pick it up today.

Brothers - A Tale of Two Sons

Game Title: Brothers - A Tale of Two Sons

Platform(s): PC

Stars (out of 5): 4.5

Content issues: There is no inappropriate language in this game (or any intelligible language at all). The characters speak some sort of gibberish which is meant to convey a general idea, but does not map to any real world language that I know of. There is a small amount of violence towards the end of the game, but the game itself is not intended to be violent or gory as you will find in some first person shooter games. The game does deal with some heavy themes, however, so may not be appropriate for small children. I would think that anyone in the 12+ range would be old enough to handle this game.

Brief Summary: Brothers - A Tale of Two Sons is a visually gorgeous and thematically rich game. It is about two brothers who leave their home to find a way to save their father who is seriously ill. There are many delightful surprises along the way, as well as some sad turn of events.

Like: The art in this game is a joy to behold. It is almost as if you were playing inside of a beautiful painting. I love the story, its deep, poignant, and impactful themes, twists, and turns. The control system is also novel. You control both brothers simultaneously using a trigger and a thumbstick for each one. I have never played a game with this kind of a control scheme. I feel like the length of the game was good. I have lately been drawn towards games that have a certain number of hours of gameplay and a clear end, because I find it hard to move on from a game that doesn't have a clear ending (Skyrim, Fallout, Minecraft, etc.). Although I love these games as well, I am pleased with games that end, due to the sense of accomplishment that comes from completion, as well as a satisfying end to a story, and so that I can move on to the next experience.

Dislike: Sometimes, the twists and turns in the story are a bit slow in coming. Even amidst the beautiful scenery the game can sometimes feel a bit dull. The story is worth the wait, so keep playing through those dull portions of the game. The novel control scheme is interesting, but somewhat difficult. One example of this is that when you are climbing up vines, you have to keep both triggers pressed the entire time, and fingers actually get tired while playing this game, even for if it's only for short play sessions. It is also disorienting at times to control two characters at once. I found myself trying to keep the older brother on the left of the younger brother so that I would remember which brother was controlled with which thumbstick.

Replayability: It is a beautiful game and a story worth revisiting, but one that wouldn't be worth revisiting until sufficient time has passed to allow the experience to be nostalgic or new, without being a replay of a clearly remembered story.

Beautiful scenery and interesting characters.

Fun puzzles which involve the brothers working together.

Ace of Spades

Game Title: Ace of Spades

Platform(s): PC

Stars (out of 5): 3.5

Content issues: It's a shooting game, but is not bloody or gory and doesn't feel violent either.

Brief Summary: It has a blocky aesthetic similar to Minecraft, but it is a competitive shooting game rather than an exploration and building game.

Like: The different game modes are very fun. The ability to destroy the blocks in the world is a really great addition to the gameplay. Building things with blocks feels difficult and clunky to me, so I don't do that as often. The best part about this game though is playing it with friends and the really special moments that arise naturally from the gameplay. For example, I was playing with my brother-in-law and we decided to attack the enemy by mining out the foundation of their base. When we removed the last block from the foundation, the entire building came crashing down. It was a supremely enjoyable moment.

Dislike: Sometimes it is hard to find a match with enough players in it for it to be fun. That is a typical challenge with a game like this. Unless the game is massively popular, there may not be enough active players to make the game worth playing.

Replayability: This game does not have a single-player mode, and is therefore intended to be infinitely replayable. It is enjoyable and fun and the game modes take quite a while to get boring, so I would say that the replayability level is high, but perhaps not infinite.

How would I make it better: If I had made this game I would have made it a persistent would like Minecraft, where players can build forts and whatever else they want, and then they can attack whenever they want and the game just goes on and on. Not match based. 

Adam's Venture. Episode I: The Search for the Lost Garden

Game Title: Adam's Venture. Episode I: The Search for the Lost Garden

Platform(s): PC

Stars (out of 5): 2.5 - 3.0

Content issues: No offensive material. It even has a biblical theme.

Brief Summary: Adam's Venture is basically a poor man's version of Indiana Jones or Uncharted. Adam is searching for The Garden of Eden and must solve a number of puzzles in the process.

Like: The puzzles are interesting and challenging enough to make them interesting. Unfortunately, there is a lot of repetition with the puzzles, and some are timing dependent, which is not good for this game.I enjoyed the background music as well.

Dislike: This game is not horrible, but it is also not good. The short explanation of the problem is that it lacks polish. It's more than that though. The game has some of the worst controls that I have ever used in a video game. You never know exactly which direction Adam will move in when a particular key is pressed unless you go ahead an press that key. Jumping is atrocious and you will often find Adam rebounding off of things that he can actually jump onto if you try hard enough. The character models are sub-par, the voice acting is cheesy, and there are really only a small number of puzzles which get repeated over and over with slight variations.

Replayability: I may end up removing this criterion from my reviews, because it is very subjective and what replayability is, is up for debate (plus, it's not even in the dictionary). This game has extremely low replayability. Frankly, it was kind of hard to get through the first time and the annoyances, repetitious puzzles, and low quality of the game make it not worth revisiting.

Shelter

Game Title: Shelter

Platform(s): PC

Stars (out of 5): 4

Content issues: Nothing here that would be offensive to anyone above the age of 10. Little kids may cry.

Brief Summary: Shelter is a story about a badger mother trying to protect and feed her five badger babies.

Like: This is one of those rare games that you want to talk about. It is original and thought provoking, and it's something you will want to tell your friends about. I also really like the art style, although it is low poly-count. It is beautiful, original, moody, and satisfying. I enjoy the badger animations, gathering food, and hunting frogs and other small critters. Most of all, I love the story itself and how the developers have told the story in such a minimal way.

Dislike: The story doesn't lend itself to a lot of action, so this game requires more patient enjoyment than most. It isn't a high-octane, fast-moving game with explosions and lots of action, but that can also be part of its charm. The game also is kind of confusing initially, but I was able to figure it out, and I bet you will be able to as well. Sometimes not knowing what the point of the game is can be hard as well, but you really just have to play to the end, and all will become clear.

Replayability: Low. This game is the kind of game that you can't really tell your friends about in too much detail, or they won't want/need to play the game. Spoilers would really ruin this game. Maybe once in a long while it could be replayed.

Gunpoint

Game Title: Gunpoint

Platform(s): PC

Stars (out of 5): 4.5

Content issues: There is no spoken dialogue, but there is a lot of written dialogue and it is riddled with the "F"-word. In addition, the game allows you to shoot people or to kill them by causing them to fall from a long distance, and there is some blood involved. Probably the worst part of this game is just the theme. You are a gun for hire (whether you choose to use your gun or not) and you are dealing with some shady folks. Compared with a lot of games out there, this one is rather tame, but you should consider the content described above before deciding to play it.

Brief Summary: Gunpoint is the journey of one man to clear his name of a crime he did not commit all while using a variety of high tech gadgets to be a combination hacker, spy, and assassin.

Like: Three things: 1. The art style is really cool. It would have been cool if there was a little bit more animation (such as having the train actually move in the background), but I loved it nonetheless. 2. The story was engaging and playing as a gun for hire was interesting. 3. The best part about this game is the mechanics. All of the cool abilities that you have are really fun and rewiring the levels to complete each one is fun and makes you feel smart and creative. My hat goes off to the developer of this game. I should also say that this game was almost entirely built by a single person, which makes it that much more impressive.

Dislike: Other than the content issues, I really don't have a lot to complain about. Sometimes I forgot which upgrades I had (after a hiatus from play) and it would be nice if there were some additional contextual reminders (there are some already). I occasionally saw a glitch or two in the animations, but for the most part the game was very solid.

Replayability: Moderate. The game is not randomly generated, but most of the levels can be solved in different ways and the story can also be approached differently. You can choose different answers in the dialogues and you can choose the order of the contracts that you accept. You could probably enjoy playing this once a year, unless you have an insanely good memory.

Batman: Arkham Asylum GOTY Edition

Game Title: Batman: Arkham Asylum

Platform(s): PC

Stars (out of 5): 4.5

Content issues: This game has a fair amount of brawling, but it isn't bloody. The most offensive parts of the game for me were the revealing attire of Harley Quinn and Poison Ivy. They were inappropriately dressed and sexualized.

Brief Summary: Batman: Arkham Asylum pits the player as the hero Batman against lots of prison inmates and some of the most famous antagonists from the Batman universe. The player will battle Joker, Harley Quinn, Poison Ivy, Scarecrow, and more.

Like: The pacing of the game is nearly perfect. It has just the right blend of detective work, brawling, and awesome, innovative platforming. The animations are superb and I love all of the cool gadgets that you get to use as Batman. The game's support for 3D is very good and I really felt immersed in the game when I played it in 3D.

Dislike: There were one or two places in the game where the normally superb pacing was off a bit. Also, I disliked the inappropriately dressed women in the game.

Replayability: There are lots of extras in the GOTY edition. I usually stick to the main campaign in the games I play, but there is a lot more to do for those who want to stay in Arkham Asylum.

Arkham Mansion

The Botanical Gardens were really cool.

Black Mesa

Game Title: Black Mesa

Platform(s): PC

Stars (out of 5): 4.5

Content issues: There is plenty of blood and violence in this game. Creatures and people can explode into gory bits when shot.

Brief Summary: Black Mesa is a total remake (minus the last portion of the game) of the classic Half-Life. It is a faithful recreation which brings back all of the goodness of the original while updating graphics, physics, sound, etc.

Like: It holds true to the experience of the original, while updating the graphics and physics, making everything smoother and more beautiful to behold.

Dislike: I was sad the the last portion of the original Half-Life was omitted. Apparently they have plans to release that part later, and I can't really blame them. Just the portion that they did was enormous and took be weeks to finish.

Replayability: Moderate. I played the original Half-Life several years ago, so I can see myself wanting to play through this again in another 5 or 10 years.

Riding in the train.

Awesome rock and sky textures.

Excellent water and epic set pieces.

Crysis

Game Title: Crysis

Platform(s): PC

Stars (out of 5): 4.5

Content issues: There is strong language (the F-word), lots of violence (but you can turn the blood off). It is a first-person shooter, so it is mostly about killing bad guys. There is no sexual material, however, which is nice.

Brief Summary: Crysis places you in the role of Nomad, a soldier in an elite 4-man squad. Each member of the squad dons a suit that allows him to jump higher, run faster, become invisible, and have stronger armor. You are investigating an anomalous event that occurred on a beautiful tropical island.

Like: The graphics are superb, even years after it was released. The island is so beautiful, in fact, that sometimes it is a pity you are fighting for your life instead of enjoying the beach. There are frogs, crabs, turtles and more that add life to the world, and I really like that. The interplay of your suit's abilities makes for very fun and interesting gameplay.

Dislike: The foul language is excessive and totally unnecessary. You feel powerful as Nomad, but I wish that the developers had made you even more powerful. Invisibility and speed, in particular, last a very short amount of time. This forces the player to be more strategic in their use, which is good, but I think it would have been even more fun and satisfying if speed and invisibility lasted a little bit longer.

Replayability: I have played this game through twice. It is very fun to play and I think it has a moderate to high replayability level.

Beautiful skies, day and night.

Varied environments.

Dishonored

Game Title: Dishonored

Platform(s): PC (also available on Xbox 360 and PS3)

Stars (out of 5): 5

Content issues: There is some strong language, but it is infrequent and didn't stand out to me, whereas it is very prevalent and in your face in some other games like in some of the levels in Rage and in Crysis.

There is one level where you go to a bathhouse which doubles as a brothel. I didn't explore it in depth, because I wanted to just beat the mission and leave, but the women are not overly revealing in their attire and I didn't see any sexual acts taking place. It is more of a thematic element. That being said, I was bothered by that level and I found it very unnecessary as a location.

The protagonist that you play, as well as some of the other characters in the game, have magic. It seems to be a sort of dark magic and the magic objects that you find and use in the game are carved out of whale bone. The powers you have are extremely fun to use, but there is a feeling that this magic doesn't come from a holy source. I disliked that dark feeling.

There are also dead bodies in the game. Most of them are dead because of the plague, but I found one particularly disturbing body in the torture chamber in one of the levels. The torturer was beating a body that had clearly been dead for some time. That was very jarring to me and I recommend avoiding that part of the game.

Finally, the game can be extremely violent, or not very violent, depending on the player's choices. I chose the non-violent path, although it is still somewhat violent. It is possible to play the game with only rarely facing enemies and then these enemies can be put to sleep via sleeping darts or choking (the choking is violent, but induces sleep instead of death). The player may beat the entire game without killing anyone. I killed a few people at the beginning before I became more adept at stealth and the killing is quite graphic. You typically chop their heads off or stab them in the neck. If you elect to play this game, I recommend taking the stealth approach to minimize violence.

Brief Summary: Dishonored is a game that appears to be set is some alternate version of Victorian England. The attire, buildings, etc. all follow that style. The graphics have a realistic, yet slightly cartoon-like style which is very pleasing to look at. You play the Lord Protector named Corvo. You are a powerful fighter to begin with, but you gain abilities throughout the gain which make you a force to be reckoned with.

Like: The art style is beautiful and fresh. The powers (especially blink) that you can purchase with the gold you find are extremely satisfying and fun to use. The story is engaging and you start to really identify with some of the characters. One of the greatest attributes of the game is the fact that you can choose your play style, vary it at will, and ultimately have a different outcome based off your actions. The variations are nearly endless.

Dislike: The inappropriate content and the dark feeling in the game were unpleasant, but the theme of the game kind of made it necessary for good story telling, and the story is a powerful one that I am glad I experienced and helped create.

Replayability: Because the story and the world change based off of your decisions and because there are so many different ways to play, I can see myself playing through this game three or four times. The achievements are also interesting and I'd like to get most or all of them. This game has high replayability.

Beautiful and unique art style.

Engaging characters.

Even beautiful sunsets!

Gravity Bone and Thirty Flights of Loving

Game Title: Gravity Bone and Thirty Flights of Loving

Platform(s): PC

Stars (out of 5): 4

Content issues: There is no profane language, sex, or nudity in this game, but there is blood as well as guns and shooting. There is also consumption of alcohol.

Brief Summary: Gravity Bone and Thirty Flights of Loving are actually two separate games, but they are bundled together. Gravity Bone is supposedly the first game and Thirty Flights of Loving is the sequel. Gravity Bone is a game in which you star as Citizen Abel and you are essentially a man for hire. There are only two missions, neither of which involves shooting. Thirty Flights of Loving is different. This time you are not given any missions. You simply walk through the game, and then it ends. Although there are things that you can do and you are free to walk around, the game is essentially on rails, because none of your decisions can affect the outcome of the game in any way.

Like: The art-style is interesting and new. All of the characters in the game have huge square heads.

The world is fun to move around in and the missions in Gravity Bone are entertaining.

Dislike: Both games are extremely linear and extremely short. You can beat both of them within 30 minutes (tops). Gravity Bone also has a part where you have to make a ridiculous jump that doesn't seem possible, but just barely is.Thirty Flights of Loving could have removed the ability for the player to walk around and pick things up and just played as a movie and it would have barely changed anything, because all of the decisions that you make are on rails. As some have said, both of these games should probably have been free due to how short and simple they are. Finally, they are supposed to be short stories. Gravity Bone makes some sense, but Thirty Flights of Loving was totally lost on me.

Replayability: Because of the linearity of the games, I would say that replayability is extremely low. The only reason I would replay these games would be to see the art style again for inspiration or to try to figure out what the story is really about in Thirty Flights of Loving, which I am unlikely to do.

This was the best part of the game. Running on top of a table, breaking glasses and smashing food as you go.

Rage

Game Title: Rage

Platform(s): PC (also available on Xbox 360 and PS3)

Stars (out of 5): 4

Content issues: There is a lot of blood and gore in this game. Enemies can explode and their brains can come out if you shoot them in the head. They can be run over with a vehicles. There are levels where blood literally drips from the ceiling. There is also a game show that you have to participate in in order to progress in which you much go through a series of rounds where the sole goal is to kill mutants. Some of the missions that the player must undertake are also morally questionable. For example, in one city, you must perform tasks for the mayor, Redstone. He asks you to kill different groups of people and it is doubtful that he is in the right. Aside from violence, gore, and senseless killing, Rage contains profanity, including the F-word. Although the F-word is not used with great frequency throughout the game, there are some levels where it is used excessively. Finally, there are immodestly dressed women in the game, especially in the last city you go to.

Brief Summary: Rage is a story about the post-apocalyptic world which exists after a meteor nearly wipes out life on the planet. Several "arks" have been buried deep beneath the ground in order to preserve some of humanity, but there are other survivors and mutants who never went into an ark. You are an ark survivor and you help people through the wasteland, eventually joining a resistance group to help stop another group known as "the authority".

Like: True to form, id Software has delivered once again with the gunplay. All of the guns and other weapons are beautifully realized and are very satisfying to use. My favorite are the cross-bow, the wingsticks, and the sniper rifle, but you will find that most of the guns have specific times when they are particularly useful and particular enemies that they are useful against. Learning which gun to use, with which ammo type, against which enemy is where this game really gets fun.

Graphically, Rage is nice, but its main draw graphically are the animations of the enemies. The mutants especially have incredibly fluid animations. They can run and jump off of walls, do flips, roll, etc. I have never before seen enemies in a game that moved with so much fluidity and variety.

I also really love the racing and driving components of the game. The vehicles in the game are very fun to drive and feel powerful and maneuverable.

Dislike: There is far too much inappropriate language. It doesn't add anything to the game and it is very offensive to me. The gore is also excessive and unnecessary. The game would be just as fun if enemies just died. Finally, I like games where I feel like I am doing good in the world, even if doing so requires extreme means (like killing). When some of the killing done in the game is questionable on moral grounds, I don't like it. Also, if you don't have an Nvidia graphics card, this game may not work well for you. I got a new computer and graphics card and it runs great, but before I had an ATI video card and the game would not work at all for a long time. Eventually the drivers were fixed so the game did work, but after 30 minutes of play the game would freeze up and I'd have to quit. Also, the graphics, while nice, are fairly grainy and are already dated. The sky is even static.

Replayability: Because I moved from one computer to another in order to play this game, I ended up playing more than half of it twice. I don't think that I will play through it again, but I enjoyed both times through and in fact probably enjoyed the second attempt more. There are also multiplayer modes which should add longevity to the game, but I have not yet tried those.

Windosill

Game Title: Windosill

Platform(s): Flash (Windosill) PC (via Steam). Also available on iPad.

Stars (out of 5): 4

Content issues: None. As clean as a game can be.

Brief Summary: This game is a physics-puzzle game. The player is required to manipulate the objects in the world in order to acquire a cube that serves as a key to open the door to the next level.

Like: This game is very clever. The simple shapes and colors make for a pleasing art style. The physics and animations are exceptionally impressive. The controls are very simple and intuitive (click or click and drag) and the puzzles are a delight to discover and unravel. I love how nearly everything can move in physically realistic ways, and how everything is very responsive to the user's touch. In many games I see lots of objects in the world and I want to be able to interact with those objects so that I feel like I am in a real place. Most games do not deliver that, but this one definitely does.

Dislike: It's incredibly short. I beat the entire game in 30 minutes. That said, the game is priced accordingly. It is inexpensive and those 30 minutes were quite enjoyable. It is a bite-sized puzzle experience.

Replayability: Relatively low. I can see myself looking back at this game to get inspiration for cool things to do in games with Physics and could play this game again in a year or two after I have forgotten how the puzzles work (This is really how I feel about all puzzle games. For example, I played Braid again a few years after my original playthrough and I had forgotten enough of the puzzles for it to be fun again.)

Infamous

Game Title: Infamous

Platform: PS3

Stars (out of 5): 4


Brief Summary: Infamous is an open-world action platformer. Cole starts out as a normal man, but through an accident acquires special electrical powers. These powers become stronger and develop as Cole progresses throughout the game, and these electrical powers can be used to great effect. Some of his powers are: glide, grind cables and rails, shoot electricity out of his hands, and more. The game includes healthy doses of both action (fighting enemies with his awesome powers) and platforming (scaling buildings, grinding rails, gliding through the air, jumping, etc. The platforming in this game is truly awesome and Cole's powers really make the player feel powerful.

Content issues: Violence is certainly present, but not overly graphic. There is some suggestive talk and one level where you have to fight a very skankily clad woman. If not for those content issues. I would have given the game 5 stars.

Like: I love the open world. You can go anywhere. I love the train that goes through the world and the ability to ride on top of it. I love the climbing and platforming mechanics. Being able to scale large buildings, grind metal cables, and glide through the air is very satisfying and are the principal contributors to the fun of the game. The combat is good. I like how Cole levels up and how he gains access to more powers and to more powerful versions of powers he already has. It makes you, the player, feel very powerful, which is a must in a super hero game. Basically, just running around town, moving from building to building via gliding or grinding or scaling and using your awesome powers is extremely satisfying.

Dislike: My main complaint against this game is the objectionable content. The woman who whispers to Cole suggestively and the really skanky woman that Cole has to battle are completely unnecessary and really hurt the game for me. I also dislike how it is possible to lose opportunities so that you can no longer free 100% of the city. I got one of the zones to 94% and was unable to do anything else to bring it to 100%.

Replayability: After you beat the game, you can continue to run around the city, gathering the remaining shards and doing whatever else is still left. This is kind of fun for a little while, but without any important tasks to complete, it quickly loses its fun. You can replay the game and be an evil character if you were good, or a good character if you were evil, but I don't like being evil, even in games, so that option does not appeal to me. Also, the revelations that happen throughout the game are a large part of what makes the game interesting, and there would be nothing new the second time through. In short, I will probably never replay this game, primarily due to the content issues mentioned.

Arkedo Series -- 03 PIXEL

Game Title: Arkedo Series -- 03 PIXEL

Platform(s): Xbox 360 Live Arcade

Stars (out of 5): 4 (For an Xbox Live Arcade Indie Game)

Content issues: None. As clean as a game can be.

Brief Summary: This game is a simple platformer. The main character, Pixel, is a cat that can walk, run, jump, and high jump. He can also climb ladders. Pixel works his was through a series of beautifully crafted pixel art levels until he reunites with his cat friends.

Like: This game has excellent, classic platforming. I love the super jump that the cat can do and I use it everywhere that I can. The moving platforms, spring boards, and hazards are all perfectly executed and a lot of fun. The modern take on retro graphics is very pleasing to the eye. This game has pixel art, but it's blown up and two tone. There are also artfully crafted backdrops to every level. The animations are the cat are fun and cute. There is a lot of attention to detail in this game as well, such as leaves falling when you chop down a tree, moving clouds leaving a little trail, etc. The music is catchy and works well with the art style. There are also signs throughout the levels that are either helpful, humorous, or both.

Dislike: This is a hard game. Many parts of the game have to be executed perfectly in order for you to succeed. Many times a tiny misstep results in starting over from the very beginning. There are far too few checkpoints, which adds to the difficulty level, and I dislike how the entire level is reloaded if you die. The programmers could have simply moved you back to the beginning of the level or to a checkpoint, reset the enemies, and away you go. Waiting for the level to reload is annoying. Another thing that I dislike is that the only thing that you can get from a treasure chest (after beating the mini-game) is having your health restored to full.

Replayability: Moderately replayable. If you have a bunch of games, you will probably never come back to this one once you have conquered it, but if your game collection is limited, then after a month or two this game would be fun again.

Game Reviews

I am an indie game developer and student at the University of Utah. I also love to play games. As I complete video games I will post a review on this blog. This will help me to better understand what makes games good and fun and it will give me a chance to improve my writing skills. Hopefully the reviews will also be helpful to you, the reader, when deciding which games to purchase and play. I will review all sorts of games from Indie to AAA and I will include my likes and dislikes in relation to the game as well as a brief content review. Enjoy!