Back in August 2017, I backed this product on Kickstarter as an early birthday present, under the impression it would’ve come in time for December that same year. A handful of delays with design and printing eventually led the EU fulfilment to happen this September.
Was it worth the wait?
Quick recap
I’ve reviewed the original Star Realms on GeekOut before, so have a read here for the game’s mechanics in depth.
In short, you get a starting deck of not-great cards, you use those not-great cards to buy new cards for your deck, with the goal of eventually cycling out the not-great cards so all you draw is straight gas.
The game itself
Since the basics of the game have been covered in the past, I’ll use this space to talk about how the cards in this box compare to the previous two sets.
A new mechanic has been introduced in the form of “Double Ally Abilities”. Previously, faction synergy only required another card of the same colour to activate, however in a self-explanatory way, these new abilities require two other cards of the same colour.
The game now natively supports 4 players, with a respective number of starter decks included. One major change is how a player’s Authority (life) can be tracked out of the box, a massive improvement at that.
Previously the box would include double sided cards with 20/10 or 5/1 printed on them. I never touched these cards due to how clunky this system is; dice/phone counters being a preferable option. Now life tracking is done using two cards, one with digits, one with multiples of 10. These cards have been designed in a way that a multiple of 10 can be aligned next to a digit to represent a player’s total.
The system is similar to using a D100 and D10 together
The basic composition of the trade deck included is the same. 80 total cards (20 of each faction) with multiple copies of the smaller, cheaper ships and singleton copies of the more powerful, more expensive ships. Each of the factions retain their preferred playstyle from previous boxes:
Trade Federation/Blue focuses on synergy with bases, healing and trade
Machine Cult/Red focuses on destroying bases and scrapping cards from your deck
Star Empire/Yellow focuses on discarding cards to draw cards and making opponents discard
Blob/Green focuses on pure, unfiltered combat potential and card draw
In terms of art direction, it is not only consistent, it is just as impressive. From the organic monstrosities of the Blob to the militaristic sleekness of the Star Empire; every ship and base conveys the identity of its faction in a way that creates flavour without words.
Finally, the box contains a small selection of “Challenge Cards”, printed on oversized cards. Designed for either solo or co-op play, these cards can be used for a sort of Player VS Environment (PvE) playstyle. Each challenge plays differently from the others, with all the information on the rear of the card and in the rulebook included in the box.
Kickstarter benefits
The tier I pledged for Frontiers was one which came with all manner of add-ons:
A pack containing the stretch goal promo cards from the Kickstarter campaign
A pack containing recent tournament promo cards
A “Stellar Allies” pack featuring dual faction cards
Some additional expansions which I need for my collection
7 “Command Decks”, one of which is Kickstarter exclusive
The final bullet point is the one I want to elaborate on, as it is a radically different way of playing Star Realms.
With Command Decks, you take the role of a prominent commander within a dual faction pair. In taking this role you get certain benefits which vary from deck to deck, the common theme between these benefits being your starting life and hand size for each turn. Each deck also comes with two “Gambits” unique to their commander, life tracking cards which art to reflect the theme of the deck and an 8-cost ship to add to your personal collection.
One of the best ways to utilise a Command Deck is to play a game mode called “Raid”, which is a 1-VS-Many format. This game mode involves a player assuming the role of the Raid Boss, who uses a Command Deck to give themselves a boost. That said, playing with these decks in simple 1v1 play can diversify the experience along with ramping up the speed of play.
Conclusion
In answer to my earlier question “Was it worth the wait?”.
Yes.
Yes, it was.
It’s hard for me to say what Star Realms means to me at this point, this is a card game I have collected almost every card from (save a few promos from supplemental products). It’s a card game that I always try to carry in my bag due to how easy it is to set up and play.
Rob, Darwin, thank you. The extra time taken for this to get into the hands of backers has led to a fantastically well-rounded addition to an already brilliant game. I know it will be a while before new Star Realms content comes into circulation, but this little box is more than enough to tide me over.
Now to get 700+ sleeves for this massive collection.
The title does seem a bit generic, so I’ll clarify.
When I’m talking about a ‘multiplayer (with friends)’ game, I’m talking about a game that can be played as a single player game quite easily — It’s designed in such a way that one person can progress normally. But the design is also in place to make the experience infinitely enhanced with the addition of your friends playing with you, either as allies, enemies or neutral parties (Read: Potential backstabbers).
So how about starting with a game where a friend can go through all three of those positions?
Sid Meier’s Civilization V (or Civ 5 for short) is a 4X strategy game (“eXplore, eXpand, eXploit, eXterminate”) where the end goal is “to build a civilisation that will stand the test of time”. You do this through various means — Researching new technology, developing your culture to build social policies and, when it comes to it, nuking the ever loving hell out of anyone who wrongs you.
Playing Civ 5 with friends is an interesting experience, to say the least. You can act amicable at first, sharing embassies, helping each other out through simple trade and maybe killing some barbarians, with the threats being only very vague and passive-aggressive in nature…
…then you’ve declared war on every AI player and your friend, just so you can say you’re at war with everyone.
Those are just the two far points of the spectrum of evil deeds during multiplayer in Civ 5 — You’ve also got imposing taxes on your friends to use your borders, or giving salt after a brutal war to, well, rub salt in the wound and — possibly the most brutal act your friends can commit — of nuking your capital city into the dirt when you’re playing as Venice, so that the only city you have left standing is a little city state that has nothing in it.
Salty? Me? No.
As much as I’d like to ramble on about when you get backstabbed by an ally, even during all-out war, I still have this element of joy flowing through me. Thinking about what move my friend will make next; what soldiers may be coming out from behind the frontlines; are the frontlines just a ploy to distract me? Combining that with all the previously mentioned elements, Civ 5 is a multiplayer game that can consume literal hours with a group of good people.
And now, to give my editor flashbacks.
Ahh… only a few people are going to get that, and that makes me happy.
Terraria should be familiar to quite a few people reading this, due to its similarities to Minecraft and how both games shared a good amount of popularity during 2011.
The advantages of Terraria come in the form of more of a set structure, with more armour tiers to advance through, biomes becoming harder as the game progresses and an incredibly diverse selection of boss fights.
As someone who has spent a small time…
…playing Terraria, I can vouch that the game has a veritable gold mine of possibilities for multiplayer.
Of course you can progress normally by gathering materials and building a large castle, all to slowly carve your way up to the Moon Lord, the Cthulhu inspired final boss.
However there are also options for PvP modes, with plenty of maps available online to download for these purposes, alongside inventory/character editors so all your friends are as powerful as each other, regardless of whether you use a mage, fighter or ranger build.
A random game to play in multiplayer that I made up involves mining. You get a Spelunker Potion (which reveals ores and treasures with a glow for a brief time), a Teleportation Potion (which teleports the player character randomly once around the map) and a high level pickaxe/drill.
The objective? Mine as much as you can before the Spelunker potion runs out. The person with the most ores and treasure wins. Simple, yet surprisingly competitive.
With the previous two games, the amount of players in a single session can go up to sixteen and even higher. The next game is a bit smaller by contrast, on a scale as grand as the starry sky.
Get it?
Being one of the more obscure multiplayer titles to pick, Dragon Quest IX: Sentinels of the Starry Sky, is a JRPG developed by Level-5 and released for the Nintendo DS. The game follows the classic four person party composed of different classes with different abilities, going through a large open world completing quests, delving into dungeons and battling giant spear wielding cucumbers.
Ahh yes, the cruel cucumber, truly the most chaotic evil of all vegetables
The difference here is that the four-person party doesn’t have to be party members recruited at a tavern. They can be your friends in local multiplayer (recruiting these at a tavern is optional).
DQ:IX handled multiplayer through a drop-in, drop-out system. In the main hub tavern of the game, there is a portal which you use to start connection with nearby DS systems, either opening your world to other players or trying to find the world of your friends.
This system is downright amazing — and honestly I believe it’s the best way to play the game, even during the campaign.
Sure, it is possible to soft sequence break your own world, by going into a friends world with more towns open and buying the better equipment there.
But that ignores how ridiculously fun and satisfying it can get exploring the world as an actual party; the conversation you share in real life being the snarky comments actual adventurers would have in the face of monsters.
Martial Artist, Armamentalist, Luminary and a healer character from that persons own party made up my band of adventurers, meeting up on the weekends to take on the harder bosses…
…only to take up a lot of turn time using an attack with a pointlessly long animation, which, at the end of the day, didn’t even do that much better damage than a regular attack.
That’s been my summary of a few multiplayer games I’ve enjoyed over my life. I’ll admit, I don’t play these with other people much these days, so a lot of my thoughts and ideas are from pure memory.
But that’s the point of playing games with your friends; creating the memories that last.
Be it sitting in a living room, making sure not to move too far away so the DS infrared connection doesn’t break, sitting in bed as suggesting Terraria as a game night idea goes horribly wrong, even to the people who prefer tabletop, gathered round a table playing Magic and D&D for hours on end.
We’re all geeks here, building a community around these sorts of things is why we’re here.
*****
Present Rosalia here, and… reading this article back, especially as I got more into Magic: the Gathering shortly after I originally wrote this, and met even more friends because of that game, really gave me fuzzy feelings for the past.
Multiplayer with friends brings back some of my greatest memories, and every time I play with friends these days I always seem to create some new memories as well, especially during the pandemic where remote play is the only time you’d get to talk to people you know.
Choosing a Normal-type to represent on this list actually ended up being quite difficult for me, as there’s a lot of good Pokémon to choose from, but none exactly stand out massively to me:
Do I pick one of the Starly line for being my personal favourite of the “three stage” bird lines in the series?
Do I pick Wooloo because the idea of rolling away from life’s problems seems appealing?
Do I pick Regigigas because I’m a memelord who wanted a shiny one to make a “MyBodyIsRegi” nickname joke?
In the end, I decided on one where the background and design has always brought a smile to my face.
The Porygon line in Pokémon derives from the core concept that it is a Pokémon that exists purely as computer code, giving it potential to operate in a near limitless amount of environments (though the Pokédex entry in Ultra Sun/Moon of most of the original Porygon being “obsolete” is quite entertaining).
This artificial quality is reflected in how evolutions work along this evolutionary line. Trading a base Porygon with “Upgrade” turns it into Porygon 2, an upgraded version with better graphics hardware, as evidenced by the rough edges of the polygons behind smoothed out. You can then evolve Porygon 2 again by trading it with a “Dubious Disc” which does not upgrade the graphics hardware, in fact, no one is sure what it did.
What exactly happens with this evolution can be left to interpretation, but two common ones persist:
The Dubious Disc infected Porygon 2 with a virus, not advertised on the disc, and this caused them to go haywire
The Dubious Disc was supposed to be what was advertised on the disc (interdimensional travel), but the programmers never finished the software, so it is full of bugs
Porygon Z being a buggy mess is what appeals to me personally, because then that way I can have the concept of spaghetti code as a Pokémon!
In terms of offensive capabilities, Porygon Z is primarily a special attacker, with a good range of Electric, Normal, and Psychic moves to choose from. With 90 base Speed it’s not exactly a slow Pokemon, but it most definitely benefits from a Speed-enhancing nature such as Timid, there is also some potential for working with a Choice Scarf build, but the lack of Same Type Attack Bonus (STAB) on the more powerful moves of the arsenal holds things back.
Honestly, I am just happy to keep this as my fun glitchy mess.
Electric – Ampharos, #181
If the positive praise I heaped on Ampharos in one of my previous works is evidence enough, I love this little electric loaf.
Their name also has a cute tie in to where you find a named Ampharos in the Gold/Silver/Crystal storyline. “Amphy”, belonging to Olivine City gym leader Jasmine, powers the city’s lighthouse. The second part of Ampharos’s name is derived from the Greek word “fáros”, meaning lighthouse, whilst “amp” is a unit of measurement for electrical current. It would be entertaining if the name came from the design scenario of needing an Electric-type Pokémon to rest on top of the lighthouse.
Whenever I play through a game where Ampharos is in the regional Pokédex, it is always in high contention to join my team even when I am playing an entirely new region with new potential Electric-types to choose from, despite its low speed providing a potential disadvantage compared to faster Pokémon who may not hit as hard.
One of its main boons is the fact that Thunder Wave, a fairly accurate Paralysis status-inducing move, is learnt on level up in the base stage of the evolutionary line Mareep. Having a move like this is valuable for difficult gym battles, working to make roaming legendary Pokémon easier to catch, and providing the same utility to static legendary Pokémon.
Ampharos is also one of the Pokémon to have gained a Mega Evolution in Generation VI, becoming even more of a slow but impactful special sweeper. The ability of Mold Breaker allows Electric-type moves to bypass any shenanigans with Pokemon using Lightning Rod, and the addition of Dragon-type allows for STAB with the potential for Ampharos to learn Dragon Pulse starting in this generation.
It has also clearly been using L’Oréal for its hair – got to respect its commitment to self-care.
With a diverse move pool from both level up and TMs providing endless utility, this yellow loaf will always be special to me.
Psychic – Gallade, #475
A gallant knight, a wandering warrior, or a ferocious gladiator? Whilst the head of a Gallade has the appearance similar to the latter’s helmet; it is a much more honourable Pokémon than that. It utilises its Psychic/Fighting type combo appropriately, being attuned to the needs of others in dire straits and having the ability to telepathically predict the attacks of potential foes, allowing them to deliver devastating attacks.
Gallade was introduced in Generation IV alongside many other previous generation Pokémon to get additional evolutions (one of many favourite features from the Sinnoh Pokédex in my opinion), this time being an alternate option if you didn’t want your male Kirlia growing up and just living with the gender role it was given, instead using a Dawn Stone to achieve the life he wants to live.
Despite appearances and expectations, Gallade is not all that fast of an offensive Fighting-type, with a base Speed stat of 80. However, this is made up for with a great Special Defence stat of 115, which allows him to tank at least one hit from a super-effective Ghost-type or Fairy-type move, potentially two if a build utilising an Assault Vest is deployed.
An all out offensive build with said item can have a decent chance of success, though as with a fair few Pokémon utilising a choice item (either a Choice Band or Choice Scarf here) can offer just as much damage output for Gallade, though the lack of a swapping move (such as U-Turn or Baton Pass) can reduce the versatility of the build.
Like with Ampharos, Gallade also has a Mega Evolution. The size of the crest on his helmet increases, the blades on his arms become red and gain a sharper edge, and, mostly importantly, he gets a cape, giving him the appearance of a mighty duellist, looking to prove his worth against opponents near and far.
With this change comes a speed more befitting the power of Gallade, going up 30 points to 110 base. Special Defence remains at its high level of 115, Defence itself goes up to 95 from 65 indicating the close quarters skill of Gallade has enhanced, but the true power lies in his Attack stat, going all the way up to 165 base, placing it above other Mega Evolutions and even some legendary Pokémon.
Gallade has always been a pet favourite of mine when it comes to competitive play, I know there’s better choices out there, but he always has a spot in my roster for both design and power.
Part 2: Completed
Normal/Electric/Psychic edition of this series completed. Once again, it’d be nice to hear your feedback on my choices and what your potential choices may be, next time I’ll be covering my picks for the most synergistic three types, Rock/Steel/Ground.
Bit of background on me, I’m currently in my final year of a programming-based degree. It has a more specialised focus on using what is taught and applying it to game engines & programming, but at its core is teaching good practice and technique within programming languages.
The majority of these languages are object-oriented (OO). Object-oriented languages are (surprising no one) built on the concept of pooling code and data into “objects”. These two core components of an object can be defined within a “class”; a class is essentially a blank state of an object and once created, can be used to create instances of these objects.
OOP languages put a heavy focus on making code modular and reusable. This is often achieved by looking at a piece of code and thinking “how often am I going to need to use this?”. If it’s used for one start-up operation, it can just be left be.
If it’s something that is core to the main operation of the program; its attributes can be placed into a class and the code is then placed into a “function”, meaning now that whenever that piece of code is needed, the programmer can just call the function as opposed to writing/copying the code out again.
All languages are going to have different implementations of various features, but there’s 3 features which are implemented across the majority of them:
Encapsulation
Inheritance
Polymorphism
Why have I left out abstraction? Two reasons: encapsulation goes a way to explaining it, and I genuinely don’t think I can explain it myself yet.
I’m going to explain what each of those mean in detail, along with talking about my struggles with actually trying to implement them in my code. All examples I give are going to be in C#/C++ as this is the syntax I feel most comfortable with.
Encapsulation
When talking about data stored in a class, the phrase “visibility” will be used a lot. Visibility refers to what variables/methods the main program can see/access, in C#/++ this is mainly defined in three levels:
Public: the variable/method is visible to all parts of the program once an instance of the class is created
Private: the variable/method is only accessible within the class
Protected: as above, but can also be access in derived classes (more on that later)
By default when a variable is declared, its access modifier is set to private. This is also good practice, as it means you don’t expose important data of a class to other parts of the program. But what if you need to use or modify this data?
This is where the implementation of “getters” and “setters” come into play. A “getter” is a function call that simply returns the value of the variable, whereas a “setter” is a function call that modifies the value of the variable, either through passing in a value to add/subtract or providing a parameter to plug into an algorithm.
In C# this is achieved through the use of creating a private variable and a public property. The variable stores the value, whereas the property acts as both getter and setter (and when programming, some IDEs will give you the option to create a property as you declare a variable).
This is a bit more complex in C++, but not by much. Properties aren’t able to be created by default, so you either need to make your variables public which is not the best idea or, as is standard, write individual getter/setter functions into your classes. Whilst this can feel clunky, it also allows for more efficient design, if you have a variable that only needs to be passed to other classes; all it requires is a getter to be written.
Out of all 4 concepts, this is the one I have the best grasp of. When learning C++ and knowing I had to write my own function calls for passing variables, I became more aware of how encapsulation can shape the design of a class and influence how functions that require data from other classes are designed.
Inheritance
If you ever want to make a sustainable income in programming games, you want to have one as a backup.
…that’s not what this means? Huh. (Game devs deserve so much better)
Inheritance continues the idea of writing reusable code, as it allows you to create a base class that can then be inherited from to create “derived” classes. Derived classes are able to access public member functions and protected variables of parent classes. The way inheritance can be shown is through a “class diagram”, showing the tree and/or lattice of classes.
The example that is commonly used to explain this is by showing the base class of “shape”, which will contain basic data on what a shape is defined as.
This base class is then used as the parent class of two derived classes, “2D shape” and “3D shape”, both of which extend the base class by adding in data such as “area” and “volume” respectively. These two derived classes can then be used as parent classes for defining derived classes for specific shapes, cutting down on needing to re-write variables for each new class.
Whilst I am still unsure on this concept, I’ve slowly learnt how it can be used effectively. When applying it to games programming, it makes planning out non player characters (NPCs) much simpler, as you can create a base class for basic NPC function and then create derived classes to make diverse NPCs with less new code needing to be added.
(Present Rosalia update: I’ve actually managed to use this correctly in one of my final modules, I created an abstract class to handle player characters within a game, with each unique player inheriting from that base class. It made applying functions needed across all player characters much easier to implement, and I’ll certainly be using the technique again!)
Polymorphism
Polymorphism is… strange, at least from my perspective.
It is often defined as “the ability for a function, variable or object to take on different forms”, with this definition being applied to allow programmers to design their software without needing to think of specifics.
In C#/++, this is seen as declaring a function with the same name multiple times, but changing what input parameters it has:
Output(int number)
Output(int number1, int number 2, int number 3)
Output(float number)
Output(vector<int> vector) [an aside, I love vectors in C++, such a useful data structure]
These functions all have the same name of “Output”, but the actual nature of Output will only be determined when they are called with the specific set of parameters.
I’ve not yet been able to see a useful application of polymorphism in my programs; I did briefly flirt with the idea of trying to write a function with an infinitely scalable number of parameters, but I got quickly talked out of it. From the perspective of games programming, it can potentially tie into inheritance, a function called “Movement” can be defined in a base NPC with it’s true behaviour only being determined when applied to specific types of NPCs.
(Present Rosalia update 2: I’ve also managed to use this correctly, but in a smaller form factor than the previous technique, an enemy agent in my AI project needed to access positions on a map grid in different ways, so I made the same function name, but it either took in a Vector3 or a Vector2Int depending on what level of map access it needed)
Conclusion
Without sounding too full of myself, I think I’m a pretty good programmer. My problem solving skills are usually pretty sharp and (aside from a few flukes) I’m able to effectively line-by-line debug any errors I may have.
These techniques, and being able to use them correctly, comes over time. I know for a fact that even when I’m starting to do this sort of work with the aim of producing my own games, I’ll be learning more about how I may be able to implement them; maybe in ways I never considered I could.
Ratchet: Deadlocked (or Ratchet: Gladiator in Europe, Australia, and South Africa) was released in 2005, and was the last game in the franchise developed by Insomniac to be released on PS2 as two years after this they would make the leap to the next generation with the Future games. There were two more games in the franchise to see PS2 releases, but they were:
Developed by High Impact Games as opposed to Insomniac
And were of… dubious quality
Now in charge of the Starship Phoenix from the third game; Ratchet receives a call from Sasha talking about recent hero disappearances, being linked to an underground televised competition called “DreadZone” (referred to as DZ from now on), with DZ drones teleporting aboard the ship to bring Ratchet, Clank, and Big Al into their custody.
They are transported to the DZ Space Station, where all three are fitted with collars that are set to detonate if they try to escape, refuse to participate in DZ challenges, or, as antagonist Gleeman Vox puts it “become boring”. Unlike previous entries, Clank now serves as Ratchet’s support as he competes in arenas and challenges, with two support droids named Merc and Green acting as utility and fire support during gameplay.
The two bots share some banter between each other and observations on whatever situation Ratchet has gotten himself into, which can be entertaining in some scenarios. But much like the commentary from DZ presenters Dallas and Juanita, lines start to get repeated fairly early on, to the point I was able to recite a line fully before it finished in game.
Deadlocked is a radical departure from the action platforming gameplay of the original trilogy, instead focusing more on gunplay and vehicle sections, with the traditional open planets also being scrapped in favour of individual missions on both the DZ Station and planets across the Shadow Sector. I sometimes jokingly refer to this game as “Ratchet’s response to Halo” because of this shift.
Weapons
Despite a greater focus on gunplay; Deadlocked features less weapons than the first game of the series. Whilst the original game had 14 weapons, with sequels increasing this number as well as featuring legacy weapons to fill out the roster, this game has 10 weapons, 2 of which are derivative of legacy weapons, meaning there is technically only 8 original weapons included.
Part of the starting line up includes the Dual Vipers, two rapid-fire submachine guns perfect for crowd control against smaller mobs. However, unlike the rapid-fire weapons of previous entries, the low damage of the Viper rounds will quickly become a detriment as more powerful enemies are introduced to DZ challenges. They do find some utility as a weapon for the best chance of applying debuffs to resilient enemies using Omega Mods.
A returning weapon is the Miniturret Launcher from R&C2, which does find a new lease of life in the more action-oriented scenarios of Deadlocked. Whilst all games put a focus on using your mobility to be decrease your likelihood of being hit Deadlocked provides areas and corridors where a defensive strategy paired with mobility will win the day, which is where this weapon shines. Its upgraded form also diverts away from its origin, becoming a focused laser turret instead of a beefier rocket turret.
And as with all games, there is a R.Y.N.O-style weapon, both expensive and devastating, this time called the Harbinger. The operation of this is pretty unique compared to other variants of the R.Y.N.O, the Harbinger will fire rockets that paint targeting lasers onto the ground, at which point cannons will rain death from above, annihilating everything these enemies know and love. The upgraded version, known as the SuperNova, instead uses these targeting lasers to go Armageddon on your foes, showering them with meteors which leave behind impact craters.
Usually with my Ratchet-based content, I leave the R.Y.N.O equivalent to last, as it is usually the most powerful weapon in the game. This time, I am speaking with my bias and spreading the good word of my favourite weapon in this game: the Scorpion/Leviathan Flail.
Normally, melee weapons outside of the Omniwrench do not tend to interest me. The Walloper is underwhelming compared to even the wrench itself, and the Plasma Whip is boring until upgraded.
The Flail takes all my expectations of a melee weapon and blows them out of the water. With the ability to handle crowds of mobs, small to medium enemies, and even some bosses the Flail offers the more daring user an interesting way to handle enemies close up as opposed to this games shotgun-equivalent, with it earning a mod on level-up to the Leviathan Flail that allows Ratchet to heal from the damage he deals to enemies mitigating the risk.
It has been mentioned briefly throughout this section, but weapon modifications are greatly expanded compared to previous games, with mods comprising of two categories this time round: Alpha Mods and Omega Mods.
Omega Mods are one per weapon, adding either an elemental aspect to the weapon or a potential debuff, and must be brought from the weapon vendor
Alpha Mods are up to a total of ten per weapon, and are earned as a weapon levels up with the option to purchase new mods in Challenge Mode
My advice? Put Shock on everything. Even with the low damage weapons Shock can turn the higher difficulties of the game into a complete cakewalk, and in the right scenarios can make your PS2 cry from slowdown as it struggles to render explosions, lightning effects and enemy bits flying everywhere as you rip and tear until it is done.
Gameplay
DZ Space Station acts as your hub level, this is where you start the game and return to after earning enough medals from completing challenges on other planets. Most plot progression fights/tournaments take place here and this is also where you can buy new weapons, upgrades, and cosmetics for your combat bots. There is also a little podium where you can check your DZ ranking against other contestants, who you never see so it is a bit pointless. Clank is also situated at this station and he serves no purpose except for cutscenes.
As mentioned, the game has done away with exploration on planets, with the form of challenges taking its place. Each planet has between 3-7 primary challenges which are needed to earn medals to participate in the progression tournaments, and 1-3 secondary challenges unlocked after completing the primary challenges on most planets. Secondary challenges are mainly for bolts and “DreadPoints”, a minimum of which are needed to advance to other planets.
Hidden collectibles such as gold/platinum bolts are not included in this entry, instead the skill point system is expanded upon from previous games, with each planet having 15 total skill points to earn and earning bolts when one is achieved. The criteria for these can vary with some persisting themes:
Complete a challenge on X difficulty level
Defeat X number of enemies with Y weapon
Defeat X number of enemies within Y timeframe
Complete a challenge without healing/taking damage
Complete a challenge within X timeframe
Inflict X amount of debuffs with Omega Mods
All the criteria for the skill points are clearly described in the list for each planet, so achieving them is not the same as completing the obscure tasks required of you in previous entries.
Like previous entries however they are still used for unlocking cheats, most of which are aesthetic minus 3 which add mods to your wrench and vehicle or give Ratchet a Ninja skin which improves his speed and physical capabilities. The aesthetic cheats range from changing the colours on your HUD, adding permanent weather effects to the world around you, or letting you hold one Dual Viper sideways to look more badass.
The game’s presentation definitely shifted more towards darker colour palettes to fit the themes of the game more, thankfully this doesn’t lead into the mid-2000s territory of “everything is brown and dreary” as there is diversity in colours used, the overall aesthetic is just edgier. And as usual, the game runs at 60fps if you are not torturing it with Shock mod.
There are some options for exploration within missions themselves, though this normally just leads to more of a certain type of enemy needed to fulfil a skill point, or a Jackpot crate which is just filled with a lot of bolts.
RPG elements present in previous games remained, with XP being used to upgrade your health and weapons once more. Weapons can go up to Level 10 on a first playthrough, and once upgraded to a “Mega” variant in Challenge Mode can be levelled all the way up to Level 99.
For the first time in the series, you were able to set your difficulty before loading up your save file, ranging from “Couch Potato” (1 star), going through “Contestant” (2 stars), “Gladiator” (3 stars), “Hero” (4 stars), and finally reaching “Exterminator” (5 stars) being unlocked upon completion of the game. My recommendation is Contestant if you are new to the franchise and going up if you want a challenge. Coach Potato is way too mindless to be fun at points in my opinion.
Oh hey, a Naughty Dog reference
Armour is unlocked through gameplay progression this time round, but all it does is offer a visual bonus with no impact on damage reduction. To this end you could be better off using one of the many skins that can be unlocked in the extras menu using the stars earned from completing challenges.
Due to the gunplay taking centre-stage, there are actually very few gadgets Ratchet himself can use this time, any and all gadget play is relegated to the combat bots who can be commanded to use gadgets with the D-Pad, making sections of them using something like the Hacker Ray more like an escort mission than anything else.
Vehicles now form a more integral part of the game, with multiple primary and secondary challenges putting you in control of one of four different vehicle options, three of which are returning/revamped.
Returning from the previous game is the Hovership. With more refined controls than the previous entry and a slightly expanded arsenal, in addition to a damaging primary cannon there are now missiles that can be locked onto multiple enemies at once making it useful for dealing with both ground and airborne threats.
Also returning but in a slightly adjusted form is the Hoverbike, last seen in R&C2. Whereas the Megacorp hoverbikes are more geared towards racing around tracks the DZ hoverbikes are more combat-focused, being able to strafe and having machine guns mounted on the front for skirmishes. Challenges centred around the bike tend to be more focused on speed.
Building on the foundation of the Turbo Slider from R&C2, the Puma is a vehicle that has good speed capabilities paired with good offensive capabilities, equipped with machine guns on the front of the car if simple roadkill isn’t enough for you, and a more powerful energy cannon mounted on the top that can be aimed by a passenger.
Finally, and completely original to this game, is the Landstalker. A quadrupedal walking tank, again equipped with machine guns but now also carrying plasma mortars that can be locked onto enemies before firing, allowing you to either eliminate a handful of medium enemies or concentrate your firepower on one large target. The Landstalker is often used in auto-walking target gallery challenges, requiring you to earn a specific number of points before reaching the end.
Multiplayer was included again with it encompassing more of the game. The main campaign could now be played entirely cooperatively, with you and your partner gaining access to the gadgets your combat bots would use normally, and there was competitive multiplayer with an online mode that lasted until 2012 when the PS2 servers were shut down. If anything, I just love that this is another way the PS2 enjoyed such a long active lifespan as a console.
Controls
There is not much to comment on regarding the controls this time round, as Insomniac continued to use the fantastic system that had practically perfected with R&C3. There is no Clank this time around for thruster pack moves so everything is solely on Ratchet who controls the same as before, strafing and flipping from side-to-side during combat feels good to use.
The Puma and Hovership control practically identical to their previous iterations, with some tightening of the Puma’s controls to adjust for the fact it is used for racing style missions now. The Hoverbike feels slightly floatier and not as tight to control as I would want it to be, but for the few missions where it sees use this is not much to complain about.
And the Landstalker is… alright. Being heavy artillery, it is obviously a slow-moving vehicle, with some options for mobility in the fact it can leap to dodge out of the way or move towards a goal faster. This would be fine except for higher difficulties where the enemies are tougher, outputting more damage than you are, and you are in a tin can that will soon become your coffin.
Final thoughts
Deadlocked is a perfectly good game if you are interested in experiencing the mission style structure of the gameplay and how the more gunplay focused approach plays out. My main comment to make that this would be a perfectly fine standalone title if it were not for the Ratchet and Clank branding.
This is not a Ratchet game, this has no business being a Ratchet game, it is perfectly enjoyable on its own but compared to the games preceding it (and then the games following on from it); you can definitely tell this was supposed to be something else entirely during development.
I still enjoyed playing it all the same, and it provided a good challenge as well. If you find this cheap for PS2 or PS3 and fancy giving it a go, I recommend picking it up, especially if you can find a friend to play along in co-op with you.
(Foreword: Thanks to Joel for hearing me out on this idea one night and helping develop it. These theoretical card designs were created using mtg.design)
Ever since their introduction in the original Innistrad block; double-faced cards have remained a very popular mechanic in Magic: the Gathering. To date, we have got:
The penultimate entry is one for discussion today, because I want to test the idea of a Planeswalker that can become not-a-Planeswalker.
Thematically, a Planeswalker is an individual who is gifted with a “Planeswalker spark”, an innate ability that allows them to travel between planes. Within the story there have also been instances of Planeswalkers giving up their spark to achieve various goals, so, a Planeswalker card that becomes something else can work in game.
I’m going to work with an example that happened in the story itself, the ascension of Xenagos to Nyx.
Xenagos, Scorned Satyr
Gods in Theros are born and sustained by the belief of their followers. Xenagos ascended in the aftermath of a large celebration (or Revel, to be accurate), and more revellers joined in as time went on. Using this we can have the plus ability on our theoretical Xenagos create token creatures to reflect the Revel growing larger.
The obvious choice here would Satyrs, but creatures of all forms joined in the Revel, so the potential ability could read as:
+1: Create a red and green 2/2 Satyr with haste, a green 3/3 Centaur with trample, or a 1/1 red Human with “{R}: This creature gets +1/0 until end of turn” at random.
As the Revel goes on, Xenagos’ power grows, and he gains more followers. And as more individuals join, the likelihood of something (and/or someone) getting broken is going up. Thankfully, the card “Destructive Revelry” gives us a pretty good idea of what this looks like, Planeswalker abilities have been known to mimic spells before, which gives us a minus ability:
-2: Destroy target artifact or enchantment. Xenagos, Scorned Reveler deals 2 damage to that permanent’s controller.
Finally, we need to have a way of transforming Xenagos. His ascension happened when the Revel reached a critical mass of followers, so we need to be able to represent this in an ability which should also interact with the plus ability.
0: If you control ten or more red and/or green creatures, transform Xenagos, Scorned Satyr
With all abilities lined up, we can now figure out what the mana cost and starting loyalty should be, though personally I feel keeping to original Xenagos’ layout of 2 generic mana, a red mana and a green mana with a starting loyalty of 3 works pretty well. The flip ability doesn’t require loyalty counters so they are purely there for survivability and using the minus ability every so often.
(Present Rosalia notes: I like how I unintentionally designed “Outlaws’ Merriment” before it was officially revealed for Eldraine. I know sets are often designed years in advance, it’s just kind of funny to me)
Xenagos, Usurper of Nyx
Having now taken his place amongst the pantheon; Xenagos has gone from Planeswalker to a more fitting “Legendary Enchantment Creature – God”.
As is expected, his first line of text is “Indestructible”. All Gods in Magic have some way of sticking around or surviving removal effects, and the most straight forward one works here.
With already existing Theros gods, they use a mechanic called “Devotion” (the amount of colour mana symbols on cards totalled together) to determine whether a God counts as a creature. However, the previous side of Xenagos has been pumping out creature tokens, which have no coloured mana symbols on them meaning no progress towards devotion.
To maintain the flavour of Gods needing a pre-condition to counting as a creature and making it so the mechanics of the previous side interact, a new mechanic can be proposed:
“Following: Your Following count is equal to the number of creatures in the specified colours”
So, the second line of text on our new Xenagos can read:
“As long as your Following to red and green is less than ten, Xenagos isn’t a creature”
This allows Xenagos to act as a creature from the get-go, as he had already gathered a required Following in order to ascend. Now he needs to have an ability that interacts with the heavily populated board state, and manifests the ideal of the Great Revel.
With bonus hypocritical Heliod flavour text
“At the beginning of your end step, create a red and green Eidolon enchantment creature token if five or more creatures dealt combat damage to a player. It has “This creature’s power and toughness are equal to the number of creatures you control.”
An ability like this gives an ever-increasing payoff to a go-wide strategy, which reflects the rituals that Xenagos performed during his ascension, bringing Nyxborn entities into the mortal realm.
And, as with Scorned Satyr, I’m keeping this Xenagos in line with his existing counterpart by making his power and toughness 6/5.
So, that’s my proposal for a Planeswalker that has the potential to flip into something else. It’s most definitely unbalanced and requires refinement, but as a dubious design, it fits the title quite nicely. Please feel free to give any feedback, both mechanically and flavour-wise on how the cards turned out.
(Content Warning: Death. This story gets heavy everyone, read at your own discretion.)
Waves crashed against the ship, the sea itself was choppy but the weather was comparatively tame, a light breeze rustling the sails doing little to disturb a sky dense with clouds. The ship itself was a fairly luxury vessel, a mixture of expansive cargo holds and four-person cabins forming the inner workings below the deck.
In one such cabin on the port side, Marieya Ebontide was reclining on a hammock, having been recently banished from the Shadow Realm on punishment of being hunted like prey and then killed in whatever way the victor saw fit. She was not alone however, as some friends had joined her in the realm of Midgard in solidarity with her.
They included Izumi, a roguish looking individual, her small nub-like horns concealed underneath a hood that cast her eyes in shadow revealing only a mouth curved into a slight smirk, alabaster white skin reflecting in the moderate light provided in the cabin.
The next compatriot was Vardal, a ranger of great renown within the Shadow Realm. His outfit muddied from tracking bearfolk on long hunts, long spiralling horns on proud display and the light catching on his dark grey skin. Beside him was his handcrafted bow and quiver, covered in several notches, one for each successful hunt.
Finally, trying to keep to themselves and express minimal emotion was Ancil. One of Marieya’s oldest friends, they were the one who supervised her trip into the forest, the one that lead to her banishment.
“Is there any reason you’ve dragged me out here Marieya?” Ancil said, a tone of exasperation lacing their voice, checking the buckles on all their gear as they followed the excitable Shadow Fey sorcerer, eager to try out new spells.
Marieya spun as she walked and beamed happily at her fighter friend “Well, whilst I get to grips with using my spells in a proper scenario…” she said, casting a spell to produce a small puff of smoke around her hand “…I figured I could use a strong, strategic, handsome fighter to escort me!”
The mildest apparition of a smile appeared on Ancil’s mouth before fading as they reached a small clearing. A fire pit smouldered gently around ebony logs that had been dragged close to act as makeshift sitting stools, and aside from a few crushed leaves, there were no remnants of the hunting party that used this area as a rest stop. Even the smallest dropped item could lead bearfolk trackers right to them.
Approaching the fire pit rubbing her hands together in glee; Marieya closed her eyes whilst taking a deep breath, envisioning the spell in her mind before saying out loud “Fiiirreeeee… Bolt!”, flicking her hand forwards at the same time. Wisps of flame circled around her palm before forming into a more cohesive ball in the centre, launching out at high speed into the fire pit reigniting the smouldering logs with a flash.
Giggling at finally getting to use her powers properly filled the young Shadow Fey with confidence, perhaps overconfidence considering her next move.
“Hey” she said “Hey Ancil.”
Ancil sighed, and said “What is it?”
Marieya gripped a piece of cured leather tight in her hand, focused on her next spell, pumping her arms and shouting “Let’s see if your fancy swords can get through my armour!”, causing a translucent red magical energy of sorts to whip around her.
Again, Ancil sighed, and shook their head. “Marieya… you’ve had some really blunt ideas in the time we’ve known each other” they said “But ‘goading me to attack you’ is probably the bluntest yet”
With a slight pout, Marieya shot back “You’ve seen me studying” she said, “I’ve looked into what this spell does, and it should be able to withstand a hit from your longsword!”
The fighter realised there was no way around this and no route to convincing their friend to back down, and so unsheathed their weapon of choice; a bespoke longsword with a straight blunt edge and a delicately sloped sharp edge, designed in such a way that allows the wielder to swap between lethal and non-lethal combat on the fly.
Ancil tutted “You know that day I used the blunt edge on you?” they said, “There was no way I was going to risk gutting you because you didn’t know the limit of your powers.”
Izumi laughed, twirling a shortsword in her hand “I would’ve done it”, she said, her voice dripping animosity “Would’ve taught her to fucking rein in.”
As the blade was deflected off the ethereal protection projected by the younger sorcerer, she fully ventured into the territory of overconfidence, allowing her ego to be swelled. Ancil continued to show barely any emotion, aside from their body language indicating a train of thought of why exactly someone this talented with sorcery need their help.
Putting the leather back into her pocket, Marieya cracked her knuckles and surveyed her surroundings. Many dark twisted trees make up the forests of the Shadow Realm, some young sprouts, and some ancient monoliths, but to the girl drunk on her own power; they all looked like targets to another spell.
Interlocking her fingers together and muttering an incantation to manifest the spell, very soon glowing red darts of magical energy appeared around Marieya. First three appeared, but as she muttered more mystical words another manifested, and finally one more also materialised, five darts in total and with a sweeping motion of both arms away from her chest each dart launched itself into a nearby tree.
The more brittle trees shattered almost instantly upon impact, sending bits of bark and wood chips flying across the clearing and to other trees. Stronger trees were visibly damaged, but the debris was more localised around the tree that was hit.
Vardal tutted “Whilst it was an amalgamation of errors that lead to this situation” he said “that was most likely the root, as you had just surrounded the area in what was essentially kindling”
Izumi chimed in and said “Yeah, I could’ve made it out if it weren’t for the bits of shit you had chucked everywhere.”
In addition to the damage caused the spell was quite loud, leading to Ancil expressing concern to their friend “Alright, you’ve proved your power and that you can handle yourself” they said “But you just made a few loud bangs, so if people didn’t know we are here before, they definitely do now.”
And soon enough, someone revealed themselves and was quite annoyed at what had been going down. “Marie, are you fucking insane!?” Izumi said, approaching the duo with a furious stride “I’ve been watching from the sidelines and it was all harmless fun until you blasted the shitting tree I was standing behind!”
Marieya crossed her arms in a huff “Well where else am I supposed to improve?” she said, “If I did this anywhere else, I’d get shouted at.”
“I’m shouting at you now you power tripping bitch! We’re friends but you seriously have to know your limits here.”
“I know my limits just fine!” Marieya said in rebuttal, “Watch! I’ll use one of my most powerful spells with the utmost of control!”
Upon saying this she reached into her pocket and pulled out a medium-sized red crystal, with minimal cutting and carving on it, leading to it having rough edges and an unusual shape. Nonetheless it brimmed with magical potential as an arcane focus, which the girl directed away from the group and started to concentrate on casting the spell.
In her mind, she was going to create a large, fiery explosion at the furthest distance she could to demonstrate the proficiency of her power.
However, the concerns of her friends clouded her mind, was she really going out of control here? Had she already done what she needed to be satisfied with herself? Was everything after protecting herself just needless showmanship?
Realising her impulsiveness, Marieya lowered her crystal… but the spell had manifested, and in her doubtful state instead of the spell being casted at a safe distance; the spell was cast but thirty feet away from the group.
Whilst they were not caught in the primary blast; the group were close enough to be pushed back by the force of the explosion. Izumi collided hard with a tree, falling to the ground quickly after whilst Marieya and Ancil were thrown back to the path they had initially travelled down, but the pain from the impact was the least of their concerns.
The fiery explosion had ignited the scraps of trees leftover by the earlier magical missiles, which provided enough ferocity to the ensuing flames to start burning the trees themselves, in the moments whilst the two on the path were composing themselves; the fire had already engulfed a good portion of the surrounding forest.
“Move.” Ancil said “Now.” Their previously ambivalent voice now provided insight to how they perceived the current situation, and they were not going to take any chances. The two began to flee the encroaching blaze, before Marieya looked back.
“I-Izumi? Izumi come on we have to move!” she said, shouting to get her friend moving. There was no response. The hit from the tree had rendered her unconscious.
“We don’t have time.” Ancil said, urging their friend to keep moving.
“But… but… she’s our friend! I have to help her!”
Marieya began the first steps back to try pick Izumi up, but the tree she had hit into was already burning, and before long a branch had caught fire, breaking off from the main tree and landing flat on her motionless body. If the impact did not kill her, the flame claiming her certainly did.
Marieya shuffled in her hammock, looking over to Vardal and Ancil. “Time slowed down for me when that happened…” she said, a haunted demeanour washing over her “I was horrified… she died because of me… because of my selfishness.”
Vardal seemed to agree, but took a restrained tone, saying “You had certainly laid the groundwork for such an incident, but your inexperience with a new spell is nothing to be ashamed of.”
“N-no…”
Ancil grabbed Marieya’s arm and pulled her through the burning forest, not giving her time to process the grief of losing a friend. The fire had continued to spread exponentially, each moment Ancil had to rapidly process the information around them to work out where to go next, within a given second a path could be blocked by falling flaming foliage requiring a moment to pause, a moment that could mean death.
“Ancil! Marieya!” a voice called out from within the flames “Can you hear me? Try to follow my voice!”
The duo complied, navigating their way through the burning forest until they reached the source of the voice. It was Vardal, presumably he had been on a hunt as there was a party of other rangers with him. “We need to get to the forest border” he said, taking control of the situation “We’re working on getting clerics and druids together to help control the blaze but we don’t know how long they’re going to be.”
Once safely navigated through the last bit towards Vardal and his party, they continued their advance through the forest, with other rangers acting as lookout for more falling branches, passage eventually calming down despite the rage around them.
“Alright, we’re close to safety” Vardal said “It should only be another three hundred feet, once we’re out we can check for injuries and- “
There was a loud bang, disorienting everyone in the vicinity. More bangs were heard, and shards of wood went flying. “Shit!” a ranger said, “The hidden caches of alcohol are igniting and exploding!”
Hidden throughout forests by various forward ranging parties; the caches were intended to be accessed by any explorers looking to relax or take the edge off a hunt, but instead now have become a deadly trap. More explosions went off, and in a spell of misfortune, Vardal was standing right beneath one of these.
Marieya sighed in sadness, and looked over again, only Ancil looking back at her. “I hope the explosion ended it quickly for him…” she said “I can’t stand the idea of having caused him more pain than I already did…”
Ancil nodded “I hope so too.”
“…his legs being blown off is never going to leave my mind though.”
The tears streamed down Marieya’s face; it was a shock to lose one friend due to her actions but losing a second shortly after was traumatising. If it were not for Ancil continuing to pull her along, she would have let herself be consumed by the results of her error, succumbing to the flames.
Slowly, the border of the forest became clear, but the flames had managed to catch up to Marieya and Ancil, the latter not moving as fast as they were previously, their breathing had become laboured and their normally stoic expressed had twisted into a rictus of pain.
“Ngh… sorry Marieya… this is as far as I go…” Ancil said, grunting, pushing Marieya in front of them.
“W-what? No! We’re so close! Come on!” Marieya said, her voice cracking with guilt and fear.
In response Ancil rolled up both their right and left trouser leg, revealing flesh penetrated with several chunks of wood “Barrel explosions got me good…”
Marieya refused to leave her friend behind, not after the events of today, she tried to tug Ancil along, but she did not have the strength to. “Please… I can’t lose anyone else…”
Ancil breathed deeply, realising the flames would reach them any moment now “It’s up to you to live now…”, and with that, they picked Marieya up, pushed the last bit of distance they needed to before throwing her clear of the forest, succumbing to the pain of their injuries and collapsing to the ground with the fire washing over them soon after.
The impact on the ground briefly stunned the girl, but she turned on the ground to try running back to save her friend, but the flames were already too strong. All she could do is scream. Scream. Cry. Wail. Despair. Despair at the horror her hands had caused.
Soon after the clerics and druids had arrived and cast spells to form a massive rainstorm over the forest, extinguishing the flames. A sorcerer had pulled Marieya aside and delved deep into her mind, discerning what had happened in the depths of the forest.
“Marieya Ebontide, for the crime of gross misuse of magic, for the crime of death in the misuse of magic, and for the destruction of ranger caches, I hereby banish you from the Shadow Realm. I will conjure a portal to the realm of Midgard, if you do not leave through it in the time the spell lasts, I will execute you. If you ever return, we will hunt you down, and the victor will choose how you are executed.”
Marieya laid in a hammock, trying to focus on anything other than what she had done.
“I need to ask one more thing of you” Ancil said.
Marieya jumped in shock “But… all the others disappeared… why are you here?”
“Because if there’s one person to tell you this, your mind would rather it be me.”
“Ahh…”
“You need to forgive yourself for what happened that day.”
“How… how can I forgive myself for such a heinous act?”
“We’re all gone, and you’re in a new world. You have a chance to find a new start.”
“I’d rather just stay on this ship, in this hammock, forever, and ever.”
“Where do you think you are?”
***
Marieya awoke with a jolt from her meditative trance, revealing true surroundings of large supply crates she had stowed herself between. As she heard a guard approaching to where she was hiding she pulled a tarp over herself to better conceal her position, loosening it as the footsteps became quieter.
She wiped her eyes of tears before rolling onto her side, using the tarp as a makeshift blanket, and tried to settle down to sleep.
She did not need to.
She just hoped nightmares would hurt less than memories.
Inspiration
This is probably the most difficult thing I have written in a very long time. It is dealing with a topic I’ve never really explored in fiction, the most dialogue I’ve written, strange perspectives on telling the story, and is the largest piece of fiction I’ve written in almost 4 years (2695 words of main content). I hope it reads well enough and the details are understandable. Any and all constructive feedback is welcome.
It somewhat seems appropiate that my first proper D&D character would go for the trope of tragic backstory, I also hope there’s enough interest in the content itself to make it stand apart. There’s honestly more to come when I explore her time training as a cleric.
Through this though, Marieya is someone I’ve played as a walking disaster, and whilst the reasons for this haven’t been explore in-game, I definitely try lean into the more comedic side of this to add interest in the roleplay aspect, such as when she found Jørgen and Fauna in the city of Jozht (after having gotten a 9 on Investigation to try find them) and badly tried to describe the situation she had gotten into with Honesty.
That situation is what spurred this story on, as Marieya had her mind delved into by a nothic, which prompted my DM to message him a secret privately, and that it can be anything. I decided now would be a good time to start drip feeding in the backstory I had been working on, especially since we uncursed the nothic, who now has this bit of knowledge in a more rational form.
To put it more into game terms, Marieya in this story is a 5th level sorcerer, hence her having access to Fireball. The reason she does not have these abilities as a character right now are distinct but connected:
She lost her friends due to not being able to control herself and her spells, leading to her suppressing her sorcerous nature
She lost her friends to fire and fire related effects, and with a good portion of her spell list being fire based, she worked even more to suppress her magic
The second reason is also why she has a phobia of fire. Whilst it is in the demands of Segottan to “Light no fires”, she came to fear fire long before she met the Mharoti Empire.
What does this bit of information mean for her progression as a character both in-story and in-game? I honestly feel I have a lot of ways to advance with her, with several options already considered for potential multiclassing as either releasing her dormant potential, or speccing into one of the classes of her fallen friends.
Or perhaps she will just continue as a cleric, realising the call of yesterday has long since passed, and that whilst her current path was not one of her choosing; she can now determine her own destiny.
I will leave off with two things, one, for anyone who may be curious, here is Marieya’s sorcerer spell list:
Secondly, the title. Something that inspired the storytelling (and I directly echoed in the ending) was the Scrubs episode “My Screw Up”, I’ll leave the clip below with a spoiler warning for Season 3, Episode 14.
Commander is one of the most popular formats for Magic the Gathering and, like most good things in Magic, it started because of bored judges.
That’s not entirely correct, but it’s an amusing thought.
Commander – or Elder Dragon Highlander, named after the early ‘Commanders’ being creatures with the “Elder Dragon” type – is a format thought up of within the Magic community. It quickly spread to being played by judges after officiating a Grand Prix or Pro Tour, which soon spread to staff at Wizards of the Coast (WotC) themselves.
Despite this popularity, official Commander pre-built products weren’t created until 2011, and it wasn’t until 2013 where these pre-built decks became an annual fixture in the release schedule.
2018’s selection of Commander decks
How is Commander played?
Commander follows specific deck building rules compared to regular constructed play:
Your deck must have a Commander/General, which has to be a Legendary Creature (2 Legendary Creatures if both cards have the “Partner” ability) or a Planeswalker containing the specific line of text “*this Planeswalker* can be your commander”
All the cards in your deck must be within the colour identity of the Commander (colour identity is determined by the colours in the card’s mana cost and rules text)
The deck can only have one copy of each card (besides basic lands)
The deck must be 100 cards total, which includes your Commander card(s)
The only non-specific rule is that cards from all of Magic’s history can be used, aside from the ban list
A powerful, versatile, and bloody expensive commander
Commander is traditionally a multiplayer format, with games between 3-4 people, though 1v1 Commander is popular in some circles. Players start on 40 life (30 for 1v1 games) and if a player is dealt 21 damage by a single commander, they lose automatically.
The commander card(s) themselves are kept in a separate zone of play called the “command zone”, which can be cast anytime you could cast a creature. Each time a commander is cast from this zone, the next time it is cast from the command zone it costs 2 colourless mana more (an effect often referred to as “commander tax”.)
Why do I like Commander?
I started playing Magic seriously about a year ago, but never started playing constructed formats until the start of this year, where Rivals of Ixalan ignited my passion for Standard Merfolk and Commander Dinosaurs. Due to time and motivation the Commander deck didn’t get taken out that much and was eventually de-sleeved.
However, a few months passed. I had grown tired of Standard and had more cards at my disposal with which to build a deck (thanks past Rosalia!). So I invested in some Eclipse sleeves with which to start this project, and my Dinosaur deck was revived alongside a completely new creation, taking after my Standard deck: the Axolotl Paradox (named after a card which I didn’t have at time of construction (and is also now banned)).
Playing with these decks with friends and at my Local Game Shop (LGS) managed to revitalise my spirit for playing Magic, as well as igniting my spark for wanting to build for Commander more often. I have kept a full list of deck ideas hidden amongst .txt files on my laptop and my brain seeing cards thinking “That could work really well in Muldrotha/Asmadi/Shu Yun”
I will admit as well…
I kinda like playing politics in Commander?
A large aspect of a multiplayer format, like Commander, is being able to make deals/pacts with people in exchange for immunity from effects, or attacks. This can sometimes draw scathing looks from the rest of table if you side with someone already in a good position.
Personally, I like making a deal with someone not to attack them… and then just cast burn spells and removal on them! Because that’s not attacking them, I never said anything about casting stuff.
How easy is it to get into Commander?
Incredibly so!
As mentioned in the intro paragraph, WoTC offer pre-constructed commander decks on a yearly basis. Debates about quality aside, these are the easiest way to get into the format. Just unbox, sleeve, shuffle and you’re ready to go.
If you’re a pre-existing Magic player, it’s likely you already have the components to build a pretty good deck, so you could go down the pre-built route, or you could make your own custom creation.
Struggling to make choices? EDHREC has your back. In my opinion this is the best resource for anything relating to Commander, from card choices to theme ideas and in some cases finding out about cards you never realised existed, but would be perfect for your deck.
If your LGS has singles for sale and a Commander community, go pay a visit. Not only will you be doing an important service by supporting the store, you’re also going to find out more about potential deck ideas, possibly from someone who plays a similar deck to your concept.
Redundancy aside, Rogue was a game developed in 1980 by Glenn Wichman and Michael Toy, with assistance from Ken Arnold later down the line. Two of Rouge’s main gameplay elements were procedurally generated dungeons to explore and permadeath, the idea of a save being valid up until death, at which point it is deleted.
These two elements are the ones most commonly associated with the word “roguelike”, but several more gameplay features and layers of complexity have been added as the genre developed.
A great example of a modern roguelike
Sometimes more modern games with roguelike elements will be referred to as “roguelike-like” or “roguelite”, as they aren’t true dungeon crawling games, but take a lot of influence from previous games in the genre.
Modern roguelike titles have introduced additional elements to the genre to define it. These often include some reliance on luck for item or equipment generation, multiple playthroughs rewarding the player and of course… Soul-crushing difficulty…
… And this is why I absolutely love playing them.
Having recently bought the Afterbirth+ expansion for The Binding of Isaac: Rebirth, the dive back into the completionist grind began once more. Now with even more bosses!
Fighting Delirium with Lilith in Binding of Isaac
Isaac functions closer to a roguelike than other recent titles. You go through a set number of floors, all procedurally generated, with death being the end of one run, forcing you to start another.
Luck does play some role in runs, but the game design is done in such a way that doesn’t promote rerolling a run because of one bad item, combos can be pulled off with the most obscure of items. Even Bob’s Brain can be useful under the right circumstances. (Present Rosalia update: Don’t believe the old me, she speaks only in lies)
But all the luck in the world doesn’t mean anything when facing the brutal challenge of playing as The Lost. A one hit point wonder, with the benefit of flight and obstacle-piercing projectiles (and a once-per-room shield after some game progression) tests your movement skill to the limit.
It… takes a while.
However, roguelikes don’t necessarily have to be in dark, dank dungeons.
FTL puts less of a focus on luck and more on resource management. Keeping track of fuel, missiles and scrap (currency) is the ideal method to go forward.
Do I have enough fuel to make X amount of jumps? Should I use missiles to disable the shields or save them for a potentially more dangerous ship? Is it worth buying the weapon and weapon system power, or should I upgrade my shields?
As expected, permadeath is involved, once your ship has been blown to pieces or all crew ejected out the airlock in despair, you start back again at the beginning of the galaxy, with a fresh crew.
Defeating the final boss, The Rebel Flagship, is a task of insane proportions which with an adequate run with smart management can be done. Of course, you could always blow it up at the same time as you die.
Victory I guess?
Of course, you can always go to a game which holds roguelike elements to its core, offering the experience of a dungeon dive, all the loot that goes with it and difficulty to match.
It even has an appropriately titled difficulty level!
Dungeons of Dredmor is the closest example to a traditional roguelike in this article, and it serves as a brilliant introduction to the genre, with an easy-to-understand interface and quality of life updates to make the dungeon experience more accessible for everyone.
Descending through ten to fifteen floors of procedurally generated mazes, the objective is simple: defeat Lord Dredmor. Throughout your journey you will be aided by your skills, equipment, lutefisk and Krong (the most fickle of all gods), paired with an amazingly self-aware sense of humour in both the surroundings and enemy dialogue.
You’re going to need all of the above, as this game does not let up with enemy difficulty, even on the first floor. It’s possible to go down to the thirteenth floor and be swarmed by a monster zoo…
Ahh… teasing my editor
…or be killed by a simple Blobby on the first floor.
So, that’s been my summary on the elements of three roguelike games that make me love the genre so much, even as I recoil back in anger as I failed to defeat the boss once more, taking a moment to pause over how such a good run could’ve gone so wrong.
Then clicking to start another one; There’s no stopping me.
Ratchet and Clank 3: Up Your Arsenal – or just Ratchet and Clank 3 in other places – was released in 2004 on the PlayStation 2, once again one year after the game before it. The game opens with Ratchet and Clank enjoying life in the Bogon Galaxy, before revealing that Clank is now a Holovid star playing “Secret Agent Clank”, a news story plays showing Ratchet’s home planet of Veldin being invaded by Tyhrranoids under the command of Doctor Nefarious…
He pulls this face at squishy sympathisers – don’t feel bad
… Who I will now spend a paragraph gushing about, because, Nefarious is probably one of the best aspects of the game. He is over-the-top, ridiculous, delusional, psychopathic, sadistic, and can randomly pick up transmissions of a soap opera during moments of great anger. These factors alone put him into contention for being an awesome villain, add in his long-suffering robotic butler, Lawrence, to bring a deadpan angle to affairs and the interactions between these two can get downright slapstick.
Anyway, Ratchet returns to his home planet to aid the Galactic Rangers in taking the planet back, leading them to meeting the Galactic President who asks them to follow a lead on someone who knows where Captain Qwark may be. Or as it turns out, actually is Captain QWAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKK!!
*Coughs* Sorry.
Once Qwark is retrieved and made to realise he is not a monkey, the adventure speeds up into tracking down where Nefarious may be and what he may be planning, with devastating consequences for the rest of the galaxy.
The bond between the two heroes remains strong, with a consistent cast of supporting characters this time around, along with a dedicated writer, the story feels like a co-ordinated effort against a much larger threat.
Weapons
A slightly reduced weapon count is featured in this instalment, going down to 20, with 5 weapons returning from the previous game (free if you have a save that owns said weapon). 14 are original to this game (with a 10% discount if you have a save from the first game) and 1 weapon returning with some tweaks and upgrades from the first game. The weapons from the second game thankfully retain most of their power, allowing them to be perfectly viable choices in any scenario.
You start the game with nothing but your wrench, though within the first few minutes of gameplay you are given two weapons to use, the Shock Cannon (a shotgun type weapon that can later be charged) and the Nitro Launcher (a standard Area of Effect weapon), with the designs once again going for a mix of conventional and unique.
Qwack-O-Ray
Spitting Hydra
Plasma Whip
From the first full planet you gain the ability to buy the Plasma Whip. Admittedly, I don’t have the most positive view of this weapon, I think it’s a bit weak in the face of early game enemies. However, give it some time and upgrades and it can become incredibly potent, especially since the whip can be thrown like your wrench for a devastating wide area attack.
Only a short while after this point does the Spitting Hydra become available for purchase. At 40,000 bolts it is a massive investment this early on, but the return is incredibly worth it. The weapon is electricity-based, requiring the player to charge each shot. As the shots charge, the weapon locks onto nearby enemies and upon releasing the fire button the shot is released, dealing massive damage to any enemies that had been locked onto and any poor sap who happened to be in the cone at the time. As the weapon upgrades it becomes more powerful and can lock onto more enemies at once.
A fact I have alluded to but not covered in detail is each game having a weapon that turns enemies into a type of animal, and the Qwack-O-Ray is the best one to show. Starting off fairly simple by just turning your enemies into harmless ducks, upgrading the weapon adds in the ducks laying exploding eggs, then going onto to making the ducks explode themselves. These upgrades culminate in the weapon allowing for an eldritch-duck-phoenix to be created, that will seek out enemies and turn them into exploding ducks.
With another game comes another R.Y.N.O. This time under the guise of the RY3NO (that’s short for “Rip Ya 3 New Ones”), initially assuming the guise of your standard supercharged rocket launcher before upgrades turn it into a more energy based weapon, before finally upgrading into the RYNOCIRATOR, which turns it into a screen-clearing monster… with admittedly poor potential for taking out bosses, which means that the crown of “turning the whole game into a cakewalk” cannot go to this iteration.
Gameplay
New to the series progression is the addition of a hub area for the game, in the form of the Starship Phoenix. Whilst you are still going through a mostly linear series of planets to advance the plot; quite often you will see yourself returning to the Phoenix to get a new gadget, further the plot, or just check in.
Once again a series of 40 collectible special bolts are found throughout the game, now titled Titanium Bolts. Keeping in tradition with them being rewarded for exploration and gadget use, they now serve a purely cosmetic purpose of purchasing skins in the Extras menu, which can be changed at any time from this menu.
A new collectible appears alongside these bolts. Trophies are a collectible that can be obtained through two means: character trophies placed in and around regular levels, and trophies earned for completing a certain goal such as maxing out your nanotech or fully upgrading all weapons. Once all trophies have been found the player can access this game’s version of the Insomniac Museum.
Skill points also return, still in a set of 30 and rewarded for completing challenges within levels. They continue to be used for cosmetic cheats.
About cheats though, there is one non-cosmetic cheat in the game. Hidden on the opening screen is the ability to access a demo for Sly Cooper 2: Band of Thieves, completing this demo provides the player with access to a cheat code (o □ o □ ↑ ↓ ← ← whilst paused, if anyone never knew this) which turns the Omniwrench into a dual bladed laser sword with greater reach.
Presentation remains consistent with the rest of the series, the game runs at 60fps and the level palettes and themes are amazing. However… I do need to break off here to talk about the levels.
Metropolis in the third game…
…and Metropolis in the first game
In the entries before this one, levels were designed as open to exploration with multiple routes to go down, with each rewarding the player differently. With the more action-oriented direction this game took, the level designs suffered a fair bit. Gone are a good mix of platforming challenges and enemy encounters, in some levels aside from a few swingshot points you won’t be doing any platforming at all, just going through a linear corridor of enemies. To some this streamlines the game and lets them get right into it, to others (including me), this removes a core part of what the series built up.
The RPG elements introduced in the previous game are slightly expanded upon. Health still upgrades by 1 unit at a time through experience gains, but weapons can now go up multiple levels to 5, with each level now offering additional damage, ammo capacity and, for a good majority of weapons, a lock-on system.
Upgradeable armour makes a return from the sequel and sticks to 4 distinct upgrades, all of which offer increasing levels of damage reduction.
Gadget diversity from the last game has decreased, though newcomers, returning, and re-imagined gadgets fill the roster:
The Dynamo from the previous game is combined with the Swingshot to create the Hypershot, capable of swinging from targets and activating platforms
Both Charge Boots and Gravity Boots return in mechanically identical forms
The Holo-Guise from the first game is re-imagined as the Tyhrra-Guise; allowing the player to assume the form of a Tyhrranoid and play a rhythm minigame to communicate with Tyhrranoids
The Refractor is new to the game, letting players redirect lasers to activate doors and solve puzzles
The Warp Pad is also new but is used for two whole segments on one planet (which can be cheesed with the Charge Boots if so desired)
Finally, this game’s entry gadget, the Hacker. Keeping with the more reaction focused vision of the Infiltrator you now play a mini-game which has you absorbing green code snippets and destroying red defence programs to open doors. Once again, none of the compulsory challenges are massively difficult, and even in my research for this I learnt they have adaptive difficulty if a player is struggling. Nice!
A slight gripe with how gadgets are used in this game is that, well, they aren’t. Aside from the Hacker and Hypershot there’s very few chances to use these gadgets, the Refractor has slight combat potential, but will be used for it’s introduction segment then once or twice afterwards, the Tyhrra-Guise is used twice with the two instances being very far apart, and as mentioned the Warp Pad is used twice on the same planet and is then never revisited.
Clank levels return for the game, now with a new mechanic in the form of the Banana Guided Autonomous Monkey Device (BGAMD for short). For this gadget, you are provided with a monkey who can be used to solve puzzles and distract enemies. Just shoot a banana in the place you want the monkey to go and he will follow. Aside from this they remain the same, using Gadgebots to solve puzzles and progress.
Giant Clank also returns, but he only appears once in a non-repeatable boss fight. The boss fight itself is also admittedly disappointing, with no real stake or circumstance behind it. This may be down to it being thematically a staged fight for an episode of Secret Agent Clank, but even then, if a fight against Giant Robot Ninjas doesn’t evoke anything in a player, something must be wrong.
Finally, there are still plenty of side mechanics in the game for players to explore.
Arena combat returns from the previous game, now centralised to a single planet which has no other features aside from this arena. The usual challenges of waves of enemies, boss fights, weapon-specific and timed events are featured, but new to the game are 8 “gauntlet” levels, run-and-gun stages which have some platforming elements intermixed into the combat. The bolt rewards seem better this time around and the arena remains a great place to level weapons up.
Another way to earn bolts is by doing missions with the Galactic Rangers. These are interspersed in both the main story and on the side as optional objectives. These missions take a more objective based approach and take place on a set battlefield. Objectives can range from pushing forward to a specific point, taking control of a vehicle to defend a squad of Rangers, or eliminating enemies of a specific type.
Gathering a specific collectible in exchange for bolts makes a return, now on a single planet this time round. Unlike the levels from the previous game; this one can’t be completed in one sitting, as the Gravity Boots are required to fully explore the sewers. (The collectibles are now at least marked on the map for easier revisiting)
Throughout the game’s normal progression, five “Captain Qwark Vid-Comics” are earned. These are short 2D side-scrolling levels that are played for both progression and earning bolts, skill points and titanium bolts. Each level has 100 Qwark tokens which will be converted to bolts upon completion, collecting all 100 earns a titanium bolt and a skill point is rewarded for completing the level in a frankly ridiculous time limit. (Haven’t done it myself, it requires the nerves of a speed-runner which I do not have)
And to culminate, probably the biggest feature added into this game, but one I do not have much experience with: multiplayer. This takes the form of standard action shooter multiplayer modes of the time such as Capture the Flag, Team & Solo Deathmatch, and Base Defence. 4 players can play on a PlayStation 2 and, back when the servers were online, up to 8 players were able to connect together to play.
Controls
For this installment I can elaborate a fair bit on the controls, since Insomniac now provides players with three different control methods to pick from.
There’s the standard “Third Person” controls I’ve been talking about for the last two articles. Nothing massively new here aside from the camera finally being in a state where I feel good controlling it and it doesn’t get as stuck in tight spaces, such as the sewer level.
Expanded upon from the previous game is “Third Person” controls, making the game function like a standard first-person shooter. Whilst this is a fairly solid control system; it has a sort of “ascended gimmick” vibe to it, being put in both to expand on how it worked in the previous game and to provide a control system to those coming into the franchise from the now-popularised FPS games on other consoles.
Finally, we have a sort of combination of the two systems in the “Lock-Strafe” controls. This is a third person control system with a few adjustments:
Whilst holding a weapon, Ratchet now strafes without needing to hold L2 or R2, these buttons now being rebound for precise aiming and crouching
The camera moves closer to Ratchet, acting as an over-the-shoulder camera and rotating with him, rather than around him
This makes it more suited to combat sections than platforming sections, but these changes make arena combat and boss fights go so more smoothly than previous entries, to the point that it’s able to use this games sniper rifle as a weapon for regular encounters (a tactic I have used a fair bit myself)
Within Galactic Ranger missions two vehicles have been added in; the Turbo Slider and the Hovership.
The Slider appears in two levels and is used primarily as a method to get between points. To this end it has good handling and decent acceleration, there was never any point where I felt like I was veering towards an edge. Reversing is a bit clunky to use; in many cases it’s easier to stop and change trajectory before speeding off. It does have limited offensive capabilities in the form of a turret but, as someone who used it mainly as transport, it never really came in handy.
On the other hand, the Hovership is a perfectly capable offensive vehicle. With heavy firepower, precise aiming and incredibly tight controls the Hovership feels great for both laying waste to enemies on the ground and partaking in dogfights against Tyrrhanoid dropships.
Finishing it today, and final thoughts
Despite some parts of this article reading more… negatively than I have been in past entries, I genuinely did enjoy my time playing through this game again. This game was the whole reason why I wanted to go through the franchise again and why I decided to write this series of articles. Playing in reverse-order, then writing about them in sequence, let me appreciate how much this game built on the control system and bolt economy.
Grievances with level design aside, there was enough in this game that I was hooked enough to be able to do a full playthrough in a couple of days, doing my best to sweep up any and all collectibles. I still maintain that I think 2 is the best of the trilogy, as it epitomises the perfect blend of platforming and action gameplay I see in the series, but 3 remains a perfectly solid game on its own and in comparison to the rest.
So, what happened after this? The more action oriented gameplay got expanded into Ratchet: Deadlocked before the series got a continuity restart with the “Future” line of games, and in 2016 we had both the re-imagined first game and a film to go alongside it (the latter being a topic for another day), which is the last we’ve heard of the series.
If you’ve followed each article from start to finish, thank you. I’ve joked to friends that with the amount I’ve written on these three games I’ve essentially done the word count of a dissertation, which I’m perfectly fine with. This series is one I’ve grown up with and still enjoy playing today, and I’m glad to have shared that love online.
I’ll leave off with a link to a YouTube channel, uselesspodcasts. It features videos from Mike Stout and Tony Garcia, two of the developers of these games, talking about their experiences at Insomniac, the techniques they used to get the game running on a PS2 and life as developers in general. If any of those interest you, take a look.
Rosalia Rambles 