Sonic Superstars and beyond. Sega makes up for lost time, final part

In the previous blogs I talked about how much fun I had playing through Sonic Lost World on the Nintendo Wii U. The game from 2013 had stage designs, and game play which I felt were perfect for the Sonic franchise. Sadly those things weren’t revisited by Sega in the following titles. I had no sense that the ideas explored in Lost World would ever be seen again. That really bummed me out. Almost a decade later Sega announced that they were going to explore a completely new adventure for Sonic and company. One which would have hints of the Lost World stage design. I was happy with the news until I found out that Sonic Team would not develop it. Not only that but it would be exclusive to the Apple Arcade. As somebody that didn’t even have a subscription to Apple Music I was skeptical that it would be any good. I held Sonic Team in high regards, and didn’t think anybody else could do the series justice.

The developers at HARDlight had created a slew of mobile hits based on console Sonic titles over the past 20 years. I didn’t doubt their track record for adapting hits. I was skeptical that they could develop an original Sonic game. To say that it blew away all of my expectations was a severe understatement. Sonic Dream Team was not only a great Sonic title, it was arguably the best game ever created for the iOS / Apple Arcade. The game debuted on December 5, 2023, and had a few updates following its release that only made it deeper, and more rewarding. The inclusion of Shadow the Hedgehog had elevated it into a Top-5 Sonic game in my opinion. I was happy that many of the elements from Lost World were revisited. If this was the only thing that HARDlight did then I would have been very happy, but they improved upon everything that Sega explored previously. The goal of the HARDlight developers was to get audiences into a state of flow. The comparisons of their stage designs to a roller coaster, or skatepark were valid. We were able to enjoy a sense of speed, and freedom to explore the dream world in every dimension without the use of traditional controls. To be fair I played it on my computer with an Xbox controller.

When it came to boss encounters I absolutely loved what the studio produced. Since everything was set in a dream world then HARDlight had the freedom to push the encounters that Sonic, and his friends would have. We were already familiar with the robots that Eggman created. However the game made everything more surreal, more cartoonish. The world was fluid, malleable. The bosses could be mechanical, organic, or a combination of the two. For example the very first boss was a giant inflatable crab called Dr. Crabulous. In any other Sonic game this character would have been metal, and not much different than a dozen other bosses. Since this was a dream then it made sense that Dr. Eggman was building weird challenges. You could actually find the weak points of Dr. Crabulous, and let the air out of it as it bounced around the stage. The subsequent levels, and bosses were equal parts dreamlike, and memorable. The second and third boss encounter was an evolving battle. The Factory Foremen were a trio of more traditional Eggman robots that could team up against you. When the larger fourth robot showed up it would combine like a Transformer and become The Four Man.

The enormous robot not only had a punny name, but was such a clever design that it made me want to buy a 3D printer just to recreate it. Seriously Sega, how do you not have these bosses in toy stores? But I digress… each battle helped pull us deeper into the dream world. HARDlight studio had a unique approach for their game. The stages they created were designed to allow Sonic, and his allies a chance to shine. Not only that but you could swap between characters in the middle of the stages. By comparison we could use any character in Sonic Superstars, but only one at a time. In Sonic Dream Team only certain characters could fight the bosses to let them shine. For example the Four Man encounter was meant for Cream the Rabbit, or Tails. This approach allowed every location, and every boss fight to contribute to the story. Each character was important, they all helped push the plot along. None of the new bosses was more bizarre than the Guardian Hunter. Dr. Eggman had created a dream construct capable of trapping Ariem. He let the multi-limbed monster loose in the dream world. The alien-like creature was one of the creepiest monsters that had ever appeared in the series. It would be up to Knuckles the Echidna, or Rouge the Bat to stop it.

Ariem was thankfully rescued from the Guardian Hunter. Dr. Eggman did not give up even when all of his bosses were defeated. He refused to abandon his pursuit of the Reverie. The diabolical doctor had spent so much time in the dream world that he had learned how to shape it through something called the Dream Core. In a last ditch effort to beat the heroes he mutated into the final boss. Unlike other Sonic games where Eggman chased Sonic in a giant robot, this time around he became the giant. This new persona was called Nightmare Eggman. At this point Sonic Dream Team felt exactly how the Sonic universe would crossover with NiGHTS into dreams… The cameos of the Nightmaren bosses in Sonic Lost World were fantastic, but I’m referring to how the dream world would work in the Sonic universe. Ariem could be seen as the surrogate for NiGHTS. Nightmare Eggman mirrored Wizeman, the final boss in the classic Saturn game. The all-powerful monster could shape reality. The only way he could be defeated was a head-on battle where the heroes faced their own fears.

Nightmare Eggman was enormous, and omnipresent in the last stage. His head alone could fill the entire horizon. He grew additional arms while attacking the team. This was similar to his appearance in opening animation. Players had to use every trick that they learned from previous stages in order to navigate through the continually shifting final stage. The mountainous villain had the same imposing presence, and disembodied hands of Wizeman from NiGHTS into dreams… and even the successor NiGHTS journey of dreams. His colossal gloved hands appeared out of thin air, trying to strike down our heroes. As I was going through the battle I kept commenting to my family how much it felt like a crossover with NiGHTS. I was so impressed with everything that went into it that I said I 100% supported the studio if they were to develop a new NiGHTS game.

The entire final boss battle was a collaborative event. The game kept jumping between the main characters as they raced against the clock. They were united in an effort to get Ariem to the Dream Core so that she could expel Dr. Eggman from the dream world, and allow our heroes to return to their own universe. In this way Sonic, Tails, Amy, Knuckles, Rouge, and Cream could each share in the climax of the story. I was amazed with how everything was handled. The last time I saw an all out battle of heroes against a single villain was during the end of God of War Ragnarok. The Playstation 5 hit from 2022 was a cinematic experience. Sega managed to capture the same all-or-nothing energy but in a mobile game. I had waited a lifetime to see that many Sonic cast members get equal billing. I was not let down. The thing that never let me down above all else was the challenge. I was happy to revisit each stage and try to get an S-Rank after beating the game. It never suffered from technical issues. It never suffered from balance issues even when using different characters. It was difficult in some places but never left me feeling cheated. Unlike Sonic Superstars this title rewarded me for playing efficiently. 

The nightmare level design, and skyscraper-sized bad guy became one of the most memorable challenges in series history. I loved everything that went into the game. All of the previous stages, all of the previous boss encounters were wonderfully done. It was the final battle that elevated my opinion of HARDlight studio. I could tell that the studio members had grown up on a steady diet of all things Sonic. They proved it countless times through all of their releases. I sincerely hoped that Sega would give the studio even more creative freedom in subsequent games. In the last few years there had been no news if Sonic Dream Team would get ported to consoles. It was a shame that Sega seemed to ignore the popularity of the title. Perhaps it had something to do with being exclusive to Apple Arcade. Maybe Sega were prohibited from releasing it on a different platform. HARDlight seemed to be the heir apparent to Sonic Team. The love, and understanding that they had of every Sonic Team game was on full display. They had proven their worth on the mobile titles they developed over 20 years.

If there was a western team that Sega could trust the blue blur to then it should be HARDlight. As much as I enjoyed Sonic Superstars I felt that the spikes in difficulty broke the otherwise classic gameplay. Sonic Dream Team was sort of the opposite. They made the modern 3D experience even more accessible, while still honoring the established game play elements. The developers knew how to take a classic idea, and bring it to a new generation of players. With most of the original members of Sonic Team now retired, or working at different studios then perhaps it was time for a new Sonic developer to take over. Similar to how Sega chose the person that would reboot the Virtua Fighter franchise. Yu Suzuki was the father of the Virtua Fighter series (along with Shenmue, After Burner, OutRun and a dozen other gems). Mr. Suzuki mentored Toshihiro Nagoshi. The creator of the Yakuza games learned the ropes by following almost everything that Mr. Suzuki produced. When Mr. Suzuki stepped down it was obvious that Mr. Nagoshi should be the perfect new leader. I would argue that HARDlight had earned similar consideration for the next Sonic console project.

The best I could do was steer the visitors of my blog to Sonic Dream Team. The more that people played the game, and shared info on it the more Sega might consider porting it. I would do my part to keep it relevant. I would create fan art of Ariem, and Nightmare Eggman to share on social media. I would write about my favorite Sonic games when I had the opportunity. It was the least I could do. Did you play this game? What did you think about it? Do you think the people at HARDlight would come up with a great console Sonic title, or perhaps a reboot of NiGHTS into dreams…? Tell me about it in the comments section. As always if you enjoyed this blog, and would like to sponsor me please visit my Patreon page and consider donating each month, even as little as $1 would help make better blogs and even podcasts!

Sonic Superstars and beyond. Sega makes up for lost time, part 7...

In the previous blog I talked about how the 2013 game Sonic Lost World was the Sonic Team’s counter to Super Mario Galaxy series. There were a lot of fun ideas in the game, and unique elements that I thought should be revisited. Things like playing through floating satellite stages in all three dimensions, as well as crossing over the enemies, and game play from NiGHTS into dreams… These things were executed wonderfully. Unfortunately the game came out just before the Sonic Boom animated series, and games for the Nintendo 3DS, and Nintendo Wii U. Those introduced different play mechanics into the series. The subsequent games like Sonic Forces, Sonic Frontiers, and Sonic Mania further mixed up the formula, while trying to honor the Sonic Team legacy. The idea that we would ever circle back to the things that worked in Lost World seemed impossible.

The entire time that Sega was experimenting with the Sonic mechanics on the consoles they were also publishing a series of mobile games as well. The most prolific of their developers were HARDlight studios from England. They wrote the book on mobile Sonic gaming. Starting with Sonic Jump in 2005, then a slew of other hits over the next 20 years. You might have heard of, if not played one of the following; Sonic Jump Fever, Sonic Dash, Sonic Dash 2: Sonic Boom, Sonic Forces, Sonic Racing, Sonic Dash+, and Sonic Prime Dash. They also created mobile versions of other Sega classics including Crazy Taxi: City Rush, and ChuChu Rocket! Universe. It would be an understatement to say that the studio was familiar with Sonic. Multiple generations of developers outside of Japan had grown up on the franchise. They not only played the games, but they watched the animated shows, and followed along with the comic books as well. Each of the HARDlight games reflected the same things that made the Sonic Team titles work. The mobile games well received by critics, and audiences. This was no accident. They understood the characters on an individual level. They understood how the stages, or zones evolved through the years. They understood the dynamics of the heroes, and villains. Many times they seemed to know what to do with Sonic better than Sega themselves.

After 20 years there was no doubt that HARDlight were great at developing Sonic adaptations. The question was whether or not Sega would allow them to develop their own original Sonic title. That was answered at the end of 2023 when Sega published Sonic Dream Team for Apple Arcade. It would be one of the best games not developed by Sonic Team, DIMPS, or Headcannon. The bar for a franchise game was already high, if HARDlight flubbed it then they might not ever get another chance. I knew that their previous efforts were good, but wasn’t sure how a game designed mainly for mobile devices would work out. The plot itself was something new to the franchise. This time Sonic and his closest allies; Tails, Amy Rose, Knuckles, Rouge, and Cream would be going through a dream world. As a massive fan of NiGHTS into dreams… this announcement got my attention.

The game would introduce a new ally to the series, a magical sheep-like character named Ariem, as in R.E.M. Sleep. She was called the Dreamweaver, the Guardian of the Reverie. The Reverie was central to the plot. It was a magical portal that allowed dreams to become reality. This portal would open once every 1000 years, but could only be accessed by a pure soul. Dr. Eggman kidnapped Cream the Rabbit, easily the most innocent soul in the cosmos. He created a device that could allow him to slip into the dreams of his victims. He intended on locking Cream out of her own mind so that he could command the Reverie. Dr. Eggman had always wanted to take over the world, if not the entire universe. He was a prolific inventor, and had come close to ruling over everything on many occasions. The idea that he could now instantly bring his twisted ambitions to life was terrifying. Thankfully when the game began his creations were still stuck in the dream world.

Once Dr. Eggman entered the dream world thanks to Cream he locked her away, and then went after Ariem. Sonic and his friends went searching for tiny rabbit. When they found her Dr. Eggman’s machines made them all fall asleep, and enter the dream world as well. This was explained in the animated introduction. Ariem was able to reach Sonic in his mind. She explained what was happening, and that she needed his help to break them all out. Ariem could weave the dream worlds together using “Dream Orbs.” The missions in the game required you to get the orbs back to her. With them she could reunite Sonic with his friends, and ultimately banish Eggman from the Reverie. Looking at the character I couldn’t help but draw parallels between her, her powers, and NiGHTS. The plot in the older Sonic Team title was very similar. NiGHTS was trapped by the master of the dream world, a character called Wizeman. The only way that NiGHTS could escape his prison was by collecting Idea crystals from the human dreamers Elliot Edwards or Claris Sinclair.

The stage designs were very much focused on continuous movement. Many of the stages was the type of multi-branching path design that was a speed runner's playground. They were filled with springs to connect elevated satellites, rails to grind on, and even halfpipes that Sonic could leap out from. It turned out that it was no accident. HARDlight had created a bunch of memorable running stages in their earlier mobile games. They knew how to balance the challenge of an endless runner, with the rewards of modern Sonic game play. If you’ve ever played through their Dash games, and fell into the rhythm of the stages then you knew that it felt like you could run forever. It was the feeling of entering a “flow state” that Sonic Dream Team perfected. This was one of the goals from HARDlight studio creative director Dan Rossati. In an interview with Eurogamer he said “The vision was to make a game that allowed players to get into an exhilarating flow state. Early on, I was waving my hands around, emulating rollercoasters and halfpipes, while enthusiastically trying to communicate what I meant by flow," he said. "On top of that, we knew that we'd be catering to both touchscreen and controller, so the controls had to be as accessible as possible while allowing the player maximum control at high speeds."

He continued: "To achieve this, we considered skate parks and bobsled runs with rounded corners so you can easily transition from floor to wall, keeping your flow. We also added in the boost, which, if you find a good line through the levels, you should be able to chain them to get some amazingly fast run-throughs.” As I went through the game I picked up on the skatepark elements that Mr. Rossati had described. The stage designs reminded not only of the best elements of Sonic Lost World, but also of a much older Sega arcade game called Top Skater. The further I went the more I saw that even Jet Set Radio Future had a hand in shaping the freedom of movement that Dream Team presented. HARDlight absolutely nailed what made up the best Sega stages. They formed environments that helped direct players to a goal, while allowing them the sensation of continuous movement.

When the game began we found ourselves in the Scrambled Shores a dream world that was a mix of bouncy houses, and the beach. This was easily the types of things that a kid like Cream the Rabbit would dream about. As the stages progressed through the Dream Factory, Nightmare Maze, and Ego City we got to see more, and more of Dr. Eggman's corrupting influence into the universe. It was precisely the world building that I loved about the classic Sonic Team games. The more I played, the deeper I wanted to explore the world that HARDlight had created. The boss encounters themselves left me much more impressed than what I had experienced in Sonic Superstars. I want to talk about them on the next blog. Until then I’d like to know if you’ve ever played a mobile game that blew away any expectations. Tell me about it in the comments section. As always if you enjoyed this blog, and would like to sponsor me please visit my Patreon page and consider donating each month, even as little as $1 would help make better blogs and even podcasts!

The Marvel Contest of Champions Legacy, part 1...

 

Thanks for hanging in there friends! The first blog of 2019 is to talk about an old fighting game, but not one from Capcom. In fact it's not one from any Japanese studio! This is a mobile game that is celebrating 4 years in business. That means it is a seasoned veteran by mobile standards. I don't talk very much about downloadable games on this site. In fact the last time that I did it was to talk about the Warhammer 40,000 game Freeblade. Without hyperbole I called it one of the best mobile games ever made. Freeblade was a great on rails shooter, but that was giant robots and monsters. The game I'm talking about today is an actual fighting game. Marvel Contest of Champions by Kabam is a fantastic game especially if you are a huge fan of the Marvel universe like me. I decided to write about the game thanks to the recently published book; Marvel Contest of Champions The Art of the Battlerelam by Paul Davies. The large hardcover by Titan Books, is the same publisher that brought us the gorgeous Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse: The Art of the Movie by Ramin Zahed. If you are a comic book fan then you owe it to yourself to get both books, like right now, before you even finish reading the rest of this blog.

 

When the Contest of Champions art book came it out and made me appreciate how far the comic, mobile, and fighting game genre has come in the past few years. I got my first preview of the game years ago in Anaheim during the D23 Convention, which is like the Comic Con for the various Disney properties. I was skeptical that any mobile game would do the Marvel universe justice. Comic book fans had been burned in the past by sloppy adaptations. I kept an eye on the game and as it grew and garnered hundreds of millions of players I learned it was no accident. As I was going through the book it made me realize that we should be celebrating the renaissance of comic book games, films, animated projects, and especially the creators bringing them to life. That's what got me to start writing again.

The game itself borrows a name from a three-run issue series from 1982. In it the series the Elders of the Universe, immortal aliens that specialized in a certain pursuit had a contest of sorts. Well, to be fair the Elders could die if they were gravely injured by another powerful being. In the comic book series the Marvel heroes and villains did battle as part of a cosmic game. En Dwi Gast, the Elder better known as The Grandmaster, challenged Death to a contest so he could win back the life of his brother Taneleer Tivan, the Elder known as the Collector. The two Elders were seen in the Marvel live action features, respectively played by Jeff Goldblum in Thor Ragnarok and Benicio del Toro in the Guardians of the Galaxy. Death accepted the challenge and each side chose warriors to battle. Comic books have always enjoyed a hierarchy of characters that existed beyond the limits of normal humans. These characters rarely popped up on Earth but instead inhabited the cosmos. Some of the most powerful figures could bend reality at will and even destroy entire galaxies if they wanted. Having these characters exist in Marvel canon allowed writers the freedom to do the impossible. They could capture entire rosters of heroes and raise the stakes over a traditional comic book story arc.

 

Movie fans might not realize it, but crossovers didn't happen as often as they did in the Avengers films. Crossover events used to be rare for big publishers like Marvel and also for rival publisher DC. For the most part the stars of the comic books had their own story arcs, relationships and adventures. They sometimes shared a city like New York. This was the base for Spider-Man, The Fantastic Four, Daredevil, and Dr. Strange. But these heroes didn't always cross paths. They each had to deal with their own problems and clean up their own part of the Big Apple. Often the enemies mirrored the heroes in their own way. The Fantastic Four would sometimes face a team of rivals, like the U-Foes or the Inhumans. Or it would take their combined efforts to stop one super-powered being like Dr. Doom. Daredevil would fight martial arts experts like Bullseye and Elektra, meanwhile Dr. Strange fought mystical opponents like Baron Mordo and Dormammu. The enemies were always at the appropriate level of challenge for the heroes. Despite his amazing abilities Spider-Man would be powerless against magic, but by the same token Dr. Strange would never be able to take a punch in a street fight. Some of the most unique figures in the Marvel universe have rarely appeared outside of the comics. When they did they were usually only recognized by fans of that particular character. For example I was happy to see the gamma-irradiated Leader and Madman in the Incredible Hulk video game. Their looks and abilities were unique but I could understand why some game players had no idea who they were.

 

The Hulk was famous for getting into fistfights with equally strong opponents but every so often he would sometimes pity his opponents and walk away. In some cases he would figure out their motive and actually outwit them. The relationships between the heroes and villains would change through the years. Even for those as timeless as the Leader or Madman. Like any great storytelling medium it was the growth of the character that kept audiences coming back. Sometimes the monthly issues would be a chance to develop a certain character, to see the world through their unique perspective. The X-Men, a team of mutants with special abilities debuted in 1963. It was a turbulent era in US history. The plight of the mutants in the Marvel universe paralleled the fight for civil rights in the US. While Spider-Man and The Fantastic Four were celebrated in New York, the mutants were feared and despised simply for being born different. It didn't matter when they fought for the safety and security of everyone. This lead to the radicalization of some mutants as well, showing two sides to the struggle. The X-Men had appeared in a number of brilliant multi-part story arcs, like The Dark Phoenix Saga (1980), Days of Future Past (1981), Mutant Massacre (1986), Fall of the Mutants (1988), Inferno (1989), Age of Apocalypse (1995). Many of these stories had now been adapted to animated and live action features.

 

The collective Marvel universe had very rarely crossed paths despite all of these story arcs. The Hulk would show up every now and then to take on a very strong mutant in the X-Men, and Ben Grimm (AKA The Thing) would help the friendly neighborhood Spider-Man deal with a crowd of bad guys. These crossovers were few and far between. A reason for this was because the writers and editors at Marvel needed to know months in advance how the stories would progress. They needed to hire artists, inkers and letterers to complete the panels before publishing. It would have broken continuity if a character appeared in one title when they were supposed to be dead in another. The three-issue Contest of Champions sparked the idea explored in the mobile game. A more influential battle royale could be attributed to the multi-part Marvel Super Heroes Secret Wars. The series from 1984 was actually created to help push a line of toys. Kids responded to crossovers, and the word secret during marketing tests. Thus the original arc had to fit in all of the big names and have them playing in the same sandbox in order to appeal to children. In the story an omniscient being known as the Beyonder summoned the great number of characters to fight for his entertainment. They didn't fight on Earth but instead on a makeshift dimension where anything went. Three decades later it was revisited during the 2015 run of the Secret Wars. This time however instead of featuring the characters from one Marvel universe, it expanded the scope to a multi-dimensional crossover. It featured the traditional heroes but also those from alternate dimensions, including the Ultimate (which inspired the live-action movies), 2099, Age of Apocalypse, House of M, and other arcs known to fans.

   

The stakes in the Secret Wars were pretty high. The Beyonder could shape reality to his will, drop teams of heroes and villains anywhere he wanted, and all of the cosmic forces seemed powerless to stop him. It was a scary opponent for our favorite heroes to face up to, but it was not the literal Earth-shattering event that would be most remembered. For comic book fans I would argue that the most influential crossover event in the '80s was not from Marvel but rather from DC Comics. We shall explore this series in the next blog entry. As always if you enjoyed this blog and would like to sponsor me please visit my Patreon page and consider donating each month, even as little as $1 would help make better blogs and even podcasts!

Freeblade, the elements of great game design...

The previous blog was my quick review of Freeblade, but today I would like to dissect it and explain why I liked it so much (and possibly why other game players did too!). Full disclosure though; I am a long time fan of the Games Workshop (GW) tabletop games. I've been a fan since the early '80s, which is rare for someone from Southern California instead of England. I've been following the ups and downs of the company and their systems for most of my life. I give credit where credit is due and believe that GW influenced other tabletop systems, and also designs in video games, movies and comics for almost half a century. I've always had a hope that someday the rest of my friends and the video game audience at large would recognize their contribution. I always hoped that a slew of great video games and movies would flow from their IP. After a great learning curve the best video games are starting to come out, and I'm going to talk about those beginning with Freeblade.

 

Freeblade was a perfect example of how to design and execute a video game. Those of you that were wondering what were elements of great game design should be taking notes. The story began right in the middle of the action. The audience was placed on the planet of Tarnis where a young Knight-Apparent, the person who would be controlling the gigantic Imperial Knight robot, was undergoing a ritual called the Becoming. This ritual would unite his mind an body with the machine. The choice of words was very important, technological and military organizations in the Warhammer 40,000 universe very often went through ceremonies with religious origins. Except instead of worshipping the traditional figures of Jesus, Buddha or Allah, those in the future were following the Emperor of Terra and the Machine God. The Emperor of Terra was blessed with amazing strength, intelligence and even psychic powers, he was the person that created the Space Marines and helped take humanity across the cosmos circa the year 30,000. He was very much a Christ-like figure for humans in the far future. The life of the Emperor and his accomplishments were spoken of in reverent terms, and in many instances the vehicles and weapons that were used in the future were regarded as holy relics.This bit of framing was by design going back to the roots of the tabletop gaming system itself. I will be speaking at greater length about this relationship in future blogs.

 

To return to the game however the Knight-Apparent was not simply a pilot in the machine. It was not like he could open a cockpit door and sit in a chair. He was instead becoming one with it, his neural receptors, his biological organs and entire body would be wired directly to the machine. He would be in service to his Emperor until he was completely destroyed. The game didn't waste time explaining how long Tarnis had been around or who the founders were. As the ritual was happening the planet was being besieged by the forces of Chaos. Specifically the followers of Khorne, the blood god, were doing the invading. There were four major Chaos Gods in Warhammer mythology and Khorne was the most violent and bloodthirsty. But again I will talk about the mythology in a future blog. The planet was being invaded undoubtedly for its technology and resources. The forces of evil were sending Chaos Marines, corrupted Space Marines, to the planet surface via Drop Pods. These were weaponized space capsules that allowed troops to be deployed from orbit. These pods landed right on the Imperial headquarters and began all of the action. If you look at the great adventure stories, games and movies you would spot a trend. The best works always started right in the middle of the plot. They did not spend chapters explaining where we were or how we got there, instead we began at the most important moment. Whether it was Star Wars opening with a space battle between the Rebels and the Empire, Harry Potter finding himself aboard the Hogwarts Express, or Kratos throwing himself off of a cliff at the beginning of God of War, the stories that hooked the audience right away were the ones that were remembered. Freeblade had the exact same thing going for it with the invasion. Budding game designers should have noticed that.

 

From a game design standpoint the audience had to be willing to pick up the controls and get into the action. There was no time to get settled in the role of Imperial Knight, this meant that there would be no boring tutorial to play through. The audience took control of the robot right away and had to survive a literal "trial by fire." The Knight would be attacked from all sides. Everything from infantry and assault vehicles to gigantic war machines had come in for the kill. Wave, after wave of enemies bombarded the players. The action did not stop from the time the stage started until it ended. That level of tension was a great motivator. It would help establish the type of experience Pixel Toys was trying to create. The player had to learn how to target opponents and manage their weapons as they made their way through the gothic Imperial streets. It was genius game design and something that worked well in the continuity of Warhammer 40,000. Different games required different levels of engagement and this universe required nonstop attention. In the far future there was only war. Humanity was fighting for survival on every planet and every outpost. There was always a sense of urgency in every story and every supplement that Games Workshop released. Billions of lives, an entire population would live or die depending on the outcome of a single conflict. That premise translated very well into a great tabletop and video game experience. That level of urgency had been used by many great action video games since.

 

In Freeblade the player would try to recapture or defend the streets of Tarnis from the invaders one block at a time. It was a violent conflict that was completely unlike any shooting game that came before it, including the other Warhammer 40,000 games. In most first person or third-person shooting games the player had to constantly move and look for cover. They had to constantly hunt for weapons and ammo. In this game the Imperial Knight was fully loaded and walking in the dead center of the street. There was no cover as it was wide open to attack. But that exposure worked into the game mechanics. The Imperial Knight was like a tornado, tearing up everything in its path. Small arms fire and even small rockets were like pesky insects to the enormous robot. Characters that were over seven feet tall in canon couldn't even reach the knees of the robot. The player had a sense as to what being a 50-foot tall robot was like. It was an absolute rush. Players did not need to run for cover, they did not need to hide from any opponent. Even the largest tanks could not intimidate the Imperial Knight. If anything the opponents were the ones that had to hide because of the ease of which the a player could demolish a battalion.

 

As with any great game or adventure film there had to be a twist added to the story. It would be something that cranked up the tension even more than it already had been. Just as players assumed that the game would be about the Empire versus Chaos, a classic good versus evil plot, it turned out that a different enemy force had also landed on the planet. The brutish Ork's, green skinned monsters with crude weapons, had launched a campaign of their own. Tarnis had become a free-for-all. This was a fantastic plot twist and it happened early in the game. Think about how great books and films also used the exact same device. Star Wars built up to the Emperor, someone with even more power than Darth Vader. Harry Potter built up to Voldemort, someone to be feared more than Severus Snape. God of War built up to Zeus when Ares was assumed to have been the main villain. In Freeblade audiences now had to worry about the tactics and weapons that each type of enemy would use against them. They would have to learn how to react to the differences in technology used by each opponent. Orks for example had weapons that hit hard and fast but weren't necessarily the greatest in the armor department. They might strafe a player from the air or zoom past them on a motorcycle rather than dig in and battle like the Chaos Space Marines. Despite their rough-looking weapons the Orks were engineering savants. They could cobble together a tank or jet fighter with scrap pieces. This meant that they could also build their own giant robot to fight against the Imperial Knight.



Pixel Toys actually created several different Gorkanaut's, or Ork giant robots, for players to do battle with. Like many of the Ork vehicles, these giant robots were rough around the edges. They had layers of armor plating over a blocky frame. It was a good contrast to the Imperial Knight's regal-yet-functional armor. These crude machines were also strapped with enormous cannons, missiles and melee weapons. The Orks would often unleash a Gorkanaut or two from a side building or blind alley. The giant Ork machines would instantly close off the advancement of the Imperial Knight. Not only that they would charge right at the knight and trigger the melee battle mechanic in the game. This completely changed the way that audiences were experiencing the combat and helped break up the long portions where all they did was point and shoot at targets. During the melee fights the player could not use their long rage weapons, instead they used an enormous chainsword (like a chainsaw arm) to cut the enemy in half.

 

This was not the only oversized weapon that the Orks had at their disposal. They were known for developing weapons out of whatever was available on any planet they invaded. Instead of creating battle tanks the Ork's would sometimes commandeer a giant alien reptile, whose hide was as thick as armor, and place a small fort on its back. These giant alien monsters were better known as Gargantuan Squiggoths. They were often larger than the largest Imperial tanks. The Orks captured the Squiggoths on a far off planet and transported them around the cosmos to be used in all-out assaults. When it came to the actual tabletop gaming system the Gargantuan Squiggoth was a centerpiece in an Ork army. The models were huge, detailed and very pricey. If a player could afford one or more they were usually a veteran gamer with a lot of disposable income as well as time. Yet for younger generals there were also smaller Squiggoths, which were still larger than most artillery pieces. Pixel Toys went to great lengths to capture the look and feel of the 40K universe. I would sometimes miss an opponent because I was too busy looking at the details in the background. The Imperial buildings looked as if they came right off a tabletop campaign. There were statues honoring heroes of the Empire, there were towers and bridges that the player could not only see but also demolish. There were energy plants and ammo dumps that were as vibrant as the ones featured in the pages of White Dwarf magazine, the monthly magazine published by Games Workshop. As the player advanced through the streets we could often see Chaos or Ork soldiers holding a position behind sand bags. We could see them run along rooftops and try to set up positions for rocket-launcher attacks. These warriors would unload from their armored personnel carriers, tanks or drop pods and start shooting at the Imperial Knight. These figures were relatively tiny on the screen and could be picked off like bugs.



In many stages the player would be joined by Space Marines from the Dark Angels Chapter. As a crossroads a player would actually see a Rhino transport unload the Space Marines and then watch them start fighting opponents on the ground. Sometimes they would storm a building and try to recapture it. Sometimes they could be seen crossing a bridge, or engaged in a firefight on the rooftops as well. Pixel Toys went to the trouble of programming background details that helped bring this world to life. They were putting in the effort you would expect of a AAA console title but into a mobile device. All of the Space Marines were small on the screen but still possessed and amazing amount of detail. They had proper weapons, proper armor and moved exactly as one would imagine the tabletop miniature figures would if they could. Watching the tiny heroes and villains do battle in the background put the entire game in perspective. The majority of Warhammer 40K games, both the tabletop and video game kind, had been told from the point of view of the Space Marine. The Space Marine represented the ultimate human weapon. Thanks to intense genetic modifications (including getting new organs implanted to their biology!) the Space Marines were over seven-feet tall, incredibly strong and resilient to poisons, the elements and injuries. They had to be superhuman soldiers because of how dangerous the alien menace was. The Orks for example were slightly larger and stockier than the Space Marines. In a tabletop game the two sides looked evenly matched. When the figures were placed next to the human-sized Imperial Guard soldiers the contrast was striking. One would imagine that watching the Orks and Space Marines fight in real-life would be fearsome. Yet in Freeblade both sides looked insignificant. The destructive power of the Imperial Knight was simply too much for any humanoid opponent to withstand. Game designers were always searching for ways to make players feel as powerful as the characters they were controlling, Pixel Toys accomplished that many times over. The biggest contribution the studio made was in immersing the player into the world of Warhammer 40K.



Right after the very first level the player found themselves orbiting Tarnis, aboard the Dark Angels Strike Cruiser: Fist of Caliban. It seemed like a throw-away detail but the menu screen where the player could customize their Knight was all set aboard the ship. In the background the planet Tarnis was slowly rotating, It was the type of eye-candy that science fiction fans longed for. And again, as a long-time fan of Warhammer 40K it was something that I could only imagine what being inside an Imperial Cruiser would have looked like. The studio made sure to convince players that they were in orbit above the home world. As such they could be deployed at any moment to any corner of the planet. While aboard the ship the players learned what their objectives were and watched the story play out. After the initial assault on the planet the gamer discovered that they were the last surviving Imperial Knight from House Drakkus. Lucius Irynblud, the House Sacristan, was the only other surviving member of the initial attack. The Dark Angels, well regarded in the lore of 40K, were the hosts. Brother-Captain Tigraine and Brother-Sergeant Midael would orient the player and give them updates.

 

Story, graphics and control aside there had to be a reason for the player to keep coming back. Fans of 40K didn't need much convincing to return again and again. Most players did enjoy the awesome power of shooting at enemies from a giant robot but that experience would get old quick if it were the same each time they played. To mix things up Pixel Toys had daily objectives for the players to fulfill. To keep audiences engaged the players were rewarded for how well they performed in each stage, what secrets they found and even for how accurate they were. Players could upgrade their weapons with items they recovered. Ore that they brought back to the Fist of Caliban could even be forged into stronger weapons and armor. Players could not only customize and upgrade their weapon selection, they could also change the look and color of their Imperial Knight. Again these were details that one might expect in a AAA console title but the fact that it was in a free-to-play game made it all the more impressive.



Freeblade could be considered the new standard for mobile games. More than that it was an experience that could have, and perhaps someday might find a home on the new consoles. I hope that outside developers and designers would take a serious look at this title. There was much that even veteran designers could learn by studying it. At the very least they could learn the proper way to handle an IP from Games Workshop. For many years fans of tabletop gaming, and the publishers themselves, felt that the video game would kill the market for hobby systems. Yet decades had passed and tabletop gaming as well as board gaming were still very popular. What many publishers failed to recognize was the importance of video games and how they were an extension of the gaming hobby. A well made video game could serve as an introduction to the tabletop gaming systems. Thanks to games like Freeblade, and the exceptional Warhammer 40,000 Space Marine by Relic Entertainment, the traditional tabletop systems were undergoing a renaissance. Advances in technology benefited everyone in this regard. Freeblade was possibly the best example of this introductory experience because it was free and could be played on a mobile device. Games Workshop had found its best gateway title, but they had actually been at work for several years experimenting with the video game formula. Future blogs will look at how the tabletop systems were adapted for the mobile market, I hope to see you back for those. As always if you enjoyed this blog and would like to sponsor me please visit my Patreon page and consider donating each month, even as little as $1 would help make better blogs and even podcasts!

Freeblade, one of the best mobile games ever made...

I want to do a quick review on the new iOS game Freeblade by Pixeltoys. The game was one of the featured titles on the iTunes Store and an Editor's Choice when it debuted in late 2015. The reviews so far have been very positive, earning a 4 1/2 star average on the iTunes Store from thousands of players. Why isn't it a perfect 5-star game? The answer is simple, the game entices you to receive bonuses if you sit through a 30 second commercial for other games. Which is nothing to complain about given that this is a free to download and free to play title. From a design, control and execution perspective the game itself deserves 5 stars but I would argue it is being penalized by the pay-to-play market. Those that buy the in-game features get to extend their play and enjoy the title in more ways. Microtransactions are the bane of many game players but they are the necessary evil of the mobile market. Let's face it, if the game was priced at $24.99 on the iTunes Store with everything unlocked from then nobody would buy it because there are thousands of free games available. It's a strange dilemma for developers to be in. After playing it however I'd say that at $49.99 the game would be a bargain. Why is that? Freeblade looks as good and plays as good (if not better!) than some of the best AAA titles you would find on the portable consoles. Sony and Nintendo, I'm looking right at you! The cheap and mindless games about birds and candy may be more popular with audiences, and may make more money for the developers, however the era of the heavyweight mobile games has officially arrived.



I wasn't sold when it was first announced. I love the universe that Games Workshop had created but most of their video games left much to be desired. But then something happened this fall. At an Apple Special Event the details on the new iPhone 6 and new iPad were announced. In order to highlight the leap in performance that it had over the previous models Apple had a few developers demonstrate some of the features using their software. One of the last presenters was Andy Wafer the CEO and Co-Founder of Pixel Toys. He used Freeblade to demonstrate the new graphics processor on the iPhone. It was almost twice as fast as the previous generation and capable of presenting graphics with greater fidelity and with far more effects than any previous mobile device. Not only that the new touch scheme meant that the control was much tighter and allowed for advances in the way the game controlled and played. The presentation almost won me over but there was some doubt in my mind. Would I really have to get a new phone in order to enjoy the game? After all the 5th generation of devices, including my iPod Touch, had some memorable games and were capable of displaying some amazing graphics as well. Have you seen Ridge Racer Slipstream for example?

 

I downloaded the game on the iPod and right away I was warned that for best performance I needed to upgrade my hardware. I pressed OK and was presented with the opening story for the game but before it would ever load the first level the game would crash. I tried getting to run a few times. Tried resetting the iPod and uninstalling and reinstalling the game but it didn't work. So I had my coworker download the game on his iPhone 6 so I could test it out. Only then could I see why Freeblade required new hardware. The leap between gameplay and visuals on the handheld was like the leap from the Playstation 2 to the Playstation 4 consoles. Yes the PS2 had some incredible award-winning games, but the hardware was dated and incapable of presenting the next generation of visuals. As I was going through Freeblade I had an epiphany. Mobile games would only get better from here. If the console manufacturers didn't watch out they would become the second option for premium gaming experiences.

 

So what made Freeblade so great? If you are not familiar with Warhammer 40,000, the universe created by Games Workshop, it didn't really matter. The setup was relatively simple. It was the far future and you were on a distant planet. You were piloting a fully armed and fully armored 50-foot tall robot, known as an Imperial Knight against alien invaders. By touching the screen you got to shoot at just about anything that moved using your primary or secondary weapons. Freeblade took full advantage of the new touch features of the iOS devices. These devices recognized and responded to finger pressure instead of just finger contact. The devices and game also supported multi-finger gestures. Freeblade advanced the robot automatically during the fighting, all you had to do was aim and shoot. Essentially you were playing a mobile version of the classic arcade rail-shooter.

 

Pixel Toys developed a great game that brought back memories of some classic experiences. I wondered if the long-time arcade publishers were paying attention. Freeblade was doing to mobile devices what Panzer Dragoon had done for home consoles or Starblade had done for the arcade. Both games had cult-like followings. Sega and Namco, the respective publishers of those games hadn't really done much with the rail shooter in years. I could only imagine how great it would be if Sega developed a new Panzer Dragoon or if Namco released a new Starblade using the same mechanics of Freeblade. Yet I cannot think of a rail shooter that ever featured gigantic robot combat! In this way Freeblade stands apart from the other titles.

 

All of the hooks that mobile games depended on to keep players engaged were in Freeblade. Players could unlock secrets and upgrades as they went from battle to battle. They were rewarded for their accuracy, secrets found and point totals. They could apply some of these rewards by upgrading weapons, adding new weapons, and strengthening their armor. The player was encouraged to continue fighting through the level system. They gained experience based on how well they performed in each mission and what secrets they unlocked. Players could not only customize their weapons, they could even swap out colors to customize their robot. There were daily challenges which could make "grinding" or trying to level up your robot much more rewarding. Players did not have to spend real money in order to gain these rewards or upgrades. They simply had to be patient between sessions.



The visuals on the game were amazing. Among the best portable graphics you would ever see. The touch controls were responsive and become intuitive fairly quickly. The learning curve was relatively short, which allowed you to focus on the game itself. You had the ability to track and shoot you opponents using a gigantic machine gun, but beware of overheating! You could also fire a cannon blast or launch a barrage of missile to punch a hole through stubborn armor, roadblocks or other giant robots. Opponents emerged from every street corner and alley, in some cases they dropped in from space, rode by on motorcycles or flew overhead in jets. Sometimes the opponents were equally massive machines. When up close to other giant robots the game entered a quick-time event or melee mode. Ranged weapons were disabled and it was up to the player to use the Imperial Knight's enormous chainsaw(!) to chop an opponent down. The game was not all about offense however. The Imperial Knight was equipped with an energy shield and players could actually deflect incoming heavy fire if they responded quickly enough to the on screen cues. If the game was only graphics without the gameplay then fans would have voiced their disapproval right away. But Pixel Toys managed to make a game that looked great and played fantastic. The game only continued to grow and gain a new following on game forums and review sites. This could only be good news for the future of Pixel Toys. They had created a real winner and deserved some kudos. They were hopefully working on new content for this game as well. If you have a new iPhone or iPad and are looking for a great game then I couldn't recommend a better title. Download Freeblade now and tell me what you think. As always if you enjoyed this blog and would like to sponsor me please visit my Patreon page and consider donating each month, even as little as $1 would help make better blogs and even podcasts!