Penny Arcade - PATV - First 15 – The Deadly Tower of Monsters

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Penny Arcade - PATV - First 15 – The Deadly Tower of Monsters

Gabe and Tycho play a game for 15 minutes and then judge it accordingly. This week they play The Deadly Tower of Monsters. You can watch the full length version of this episode here.

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Spetznaso

Reminds me of Blasto for PS1. I remember Phil Hartman did the voice for that game.

metroidkillah

I'm not even into old-school sci-fi movies, and this game look awesome. Though I thought at least Jerry would have really appreciated what the game seems to be going for. No accounting for taste, I guess.

Gaslight

metroidkillah wrote: »

I'm not even into old-school sci-fi movies, and this game look awesome. Though I thought at least Jerry would have really appreciated what the game seems to be going for. No accounting for taste, I guess.

It looks to me like they appreciate what the game is trying to do stylistically at least somewhat (they seemed impressed by the "stop-motion" monster animations) but just found all of the actual gameplay really dull.

metroidkillah

Gaslight wrote: »

It looks to me like they appreciate what the game is trying to do stylistically at least somewhat (they seemed impressed by the "stop-motion" monster animations) but just found all of the actual gameplay really dull.

Mike seemed pretty dismissive of the whole thing, which actually caught me off guard. I'm getting to a point where I'm glad I don't live his life, because I'd hate to (I assume) see so much stuff on a daily basis that solidly-made games with a interesting premise and unique visual style just aren't enough to engage me. A nice problem to have, maybe.

Chiselphane

I tried the demo and my reaction was very similar. The visual aesthetic is really great, it's like being on a Harryhausen set, but the actual game is just not all that fun to play.

dennis

metroidkillah wrote: »

Gaslight wrote: »

It looks to me like they appreciate what the game is trying to do stylistically at least somewhat (they seemed impressed by the "stop-motion" monster animations) but just found all of the actual gameplay really dull.

Mike seemed pretty dismissive of the whole thing, which actually caught me off guard. I'm getting to a point where I'm glad I don't live his life, because I'd hate to (I assume) see so much stuff on a daily basis that solidly-made games with a interesting premise and unique visual style just aren't enough to engage me. A nice problem to have, maybe.

Mike:
"The animations [of the dinosaurs] are funny."
(a few beats later)
"I have to say that fighting them is not especially fun."

I think that says everything that needs to be said. The game wasn't fun to them. It could be fun to you, but it wasn't fun to them. At that point, it doesn't really matter how interesting the premise or unique the visual style is. I think it's true for most gamers that that isn't enough to engage them. They need good gameplay. Now, that's not EVERYONE. There are plenty of people who will play some games with some pretty terrible gameplay for those other bits.

Of course, if you continue to listen, you see Mike continuing to examine who would enjoy it. He even says "maybe if you're really into these types of movies." Perhaps it wasn't in the cut down one and you only watched that. Not really sure. Of course, you seem to have your mind pretty well made up on Mike, so it might be that you're hearing these things through a filter.

jerodast

@metroidkillah , I notice you threw "solidly made" into your description of the game, which does a good job of casting Mike as rather privileged with his judgements. However, I think both of them would agree (based on this vid) that gameplay is a core part of the foundation for any game, and without it being more interesting, this is NOT solidly made.

metroidkillah

@jerodast I was referring mostly to what I could glean from the video as technical aspects. After all, the idea of "interesting gameplay" is exceedingly subjective- I'm pretty sure I'd enjoy the game much more than Mike and Jerry did, simplistic combat and all. But I consider any game that functions properly without significant glitches as "solidly made".

Not trying to call out anybody or anything. It's clear they weren't into it, no big deal. I was just surprised at their reaction, or lack thereof.

But I will say the latter part of my comment was unfair. I do think Mike and Jerry are "privileged" insofar as they live a life that gains them experiences we'll never have. But it's not my place to assume what influences what.

dennis

metroidkillah wrote: »

@jerodast I was referring mostly to what I could glean from the video as technical aspects. After all, the idea of "interesting gameplay" is exceedingly subjective- I'm pretty sure I'd enjoy the game much more than Mike and Jerry did, simplistic combat and all. But I consider any game that functions properly without significant glitches as "solidly made".

Yeah, it's hard to watch something to get a good idea of how it controls. And I know you'll agree that control can be a make or break aspect of gameplay. Sometimes an otherwise unambitious game can be elevated by spot-on controls, and an otherwise great looking game can be spoiled by sloppy ones.

metroidkillah

dennis wrote: »

And I know you'll agree that control can be a make or break aspect of gameplay.

Without hesitation. I've dropped a number of games within the first 30 minutes just because of the controls.

WordLust

I think the game looks visually fantastic but the gameplay does look a little underwhelming. At the same time, I think there is probably a certain kind of person who has the right kind of nostalgia sweet spot for this kind of gameplay, simple as it may be, and it will be just the right thing for them. It would just be sort of relaxing and pleasant to that person, I imagine, like a song they haven't heard in years.