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usernamenumberFinished Bastion tonight.
First, for people who haven't played...
The short and non-spoilery review is this:
To start with the negative points, while the game is exceptional in some ways (most notably the art, narration, and overall game design), it is primitive in others, which hold it back. Most notable of these to me was the lack of that same graphical flair in many of the cutscene/exposition parts of the game. There are bits where they try to do things in-engine that should (budget allowing) have been done in another medium, like an animation, and while I can usually see what I think they're trying to do, it loses something in the translation. Another gripe is that, depending on the weapon you're using, some of the (xbox) controls can be downright nonsensical (I'm supposed to hold down X and aim with the right stick to fire??). Finally, there are some thematic elements of which I find myself a bit... dubious. More on that under the cut.
But here's the thing: Other than what I mentioned up there, this game is fantastically well done. It was something I could pick up for 30-60 mins here and there, it had tons (and tons) of ways to customize things, such that you could change your equipment around and almost feel like you were playing a whole new game, and despite its failings I found myself invested without the game ever feeling like a chore. I've never, ever bothered to play through a game on "New Game Plus" mode before (hell, I rarely even finish games), but this one I plan to. Looking forward to it, even.
Also, whether you have any intention of playing the game or not, the soundtrack is maybe my favorite album of the year so far.
Now, for people who have played...
1) Anyone have thoughts on the way the game treatsUSA/Japan (or the western world/everyone else)Caelondia/Ura vis a vis atomic weapons (or colonialism)The Calamity? I... Idunno, I think I have to digest this more. I go back and forth between finding the brutal practicality of "ok yeah we caused the apocalypse, but now we're trying to fix it, and they're getting in the way by fighting us so we have to stop them" compelling in a "what other choice do we have?" way and just, well, brutal. There are these sort of colonialist overtones of "we fucked it up, but remain convinced that we're also the ones best qualified to clean up the mess"... and yet that's not necessarily false, as the western worldCaelondians have unique resources to put toward the goal when they're not using those resources for destructive purposes... and yet, isn't it about time everyone elsethe Ura had a say one way or the other? So it's a complicated issue, and the way the game seems to give the Caelondians a pass in dismissing the outrage of the Ura in the name of the greater good is troubling... especially since I can't tell if it's being intentionally provocative, or just kind of... narrow.
2) Which ending did you choose and why? I literally spent about a half hour debating this with myself, and I'm still not sure I approve of my own choice. That, more than anything else I could say about this game, speaks to its quality. I ended up choosing Evacuation. On the one hand I felt a duty to choose Restoration because who was I to decide that all those people, especially the Ura, should remain dead. But ultimately I decided that there was too much of a risk of becoming trapped in a loop if I restored the world. Who knows, maybe this was the zillionth time that this decision had been made, always in favor of Restoration, and always doomed because it's easier to learn from a mistake than to convince people who haven't yet made the mistake that it's a bad idea. And yet... I'm still not sure that reasoning sits right with me (Edit the conversation with![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
fennel below articulates this a bit more). I am sure of only one thing: I have over-thought this game way too much.
3) Ok, the fun one: what weapon/skill combos did you enjoy the most? I became nigh unstoppable with the Gallean Mortar and the Scrap Musket, especially once I got both maxed our or near maxed out (as Rucks observed, I aint subtle). I used the mortar's special skill, which lets you spawn friendly turrets, and it got even better. I also <3 <3 <3 the shield and wish it was upgradeable. I think the game designers did not have my ranged-centric playstyle in mind, because in the last level I guess they thought they were doing me a favor by giving me the battering ram, but... no.
Aaaand you know it's a good game when it has me up this far past my bedtime. To bed with me.
First, for people who haven't played...
The short and non-spoilery review is this:
To start with the negative points, while the game is exceptional in some ways (most notably the art, narration, and overall game design), it is primitive in others, which hold it back. Most notable of these to me was the lack of that same graphical flair in many of the cutscene/exposition parts of the game. There are bits where they try to do things in-engine that should (budget allowing) have been done in another medium, like an animation, and while I can usually see what I think they're trying to do, it loses something in the translation. Another gripe is that, depending on the weapon you're using, some of the (xbox) controls can be downright nonsensical (I'm supposed to hold down X and aim with the right stick to fire??). Finally, there are some thematic elements of which I find myself a bit... dubious. More on that under the cut.
But here's the thing: Other than what I mentioned up there, this game is fantastically well done. It was something I could pick up for 30-60 mins here and there, it had tons (and tons) of ways to customize things, such that you could change your equipment around and almost feel like you were playing a whole new game, and despite its failings I found myself invested without the game ever feeling like a chore. I've never, ever bothered to play through a game on "New Game Plus" mode before (hell, I rarely even finish games), but this one I plan to. Looking forward to it, even.
Also, whether you have any intention of playing the game or not, the soundtrack is maybe my favorite album of the year so far.
Now, for people who have played...
1) Anyone have thoughts on the way the game treats
2) Which ending did you choose and why? I literally spent about a half hour debating this with myself, and I'm still not sure I approve of my own choice. That, more than anything else I could say about this game, speaks to its quality. I ended up choosing Evacuation. On the one hand I felt a duty to choose Restoration because who was I to decide that all those people, especially the Ura, should remain dead. But ultimately I decided that there was too much of a risk of becoming trapped in a loop if I restored the world. Who knows, maybe this was the zillionth time that this decision had been made, always in favor of Restoration, and always doomed because it's easier to learn from a mistake than to convince people who haven't yet made the mistake that it's a bad idea. And yet... I'm still not sure that reasoning sits right with me (Edit the conversation with
fennel below articulates this a bit more). I am sure of only one thing: I have over-thought this game way too much.3) Ok, the fun one: what weapon/skill combos did you enjoy the most? I became nigh unstoppable with the Gallean Mortar and the Scrap Musket, especially once I got both maxed our or near maxed out (as Rucks observed, I aint subtle). I used the mortar's special skill, which lets you spawn friendly turrets, and it got even better. I also <3 <3 <3 the shield and wish it was upgradeable. I think the game designers did not have my ranged-centric playstyle in mind, because in the last level I guess they thought they were doing me a favor by giving me the battering ram, but... no.
Aaaand you know it's a good game when it has me up this far past my bedtime. To bed with me.
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no subject
Date: 2012-03-29 07:33 am (UTC)I thought the scene where you have to carry Zulf slowly through a gauntlet of Ura all stabbing you like a captive bull...but strangely not actually killing you...was the closest thing we got to the Ura's "say". I'm not sure, I loved it anyhow, for putting you in a situation where you're submissive to the antagonist, but the antagonist isn't a villain and you know exactly why the antagonist is attacking you. In fact, you're given a good long time to think about why the antagonist is attacking you. It felt like a moment of affinity, I thought it was brilliant.
2. Evacuation, it was an easy call for me. After having the Kid and Rucks's own minor efforts at making a new world destroyed by old grudges - by people who've been so hurt they don't share your luxury of just wanting to put it all behind them - I couldn't see those events as anything other than a demonstration of the inevitability of war. I was following the same reasoning as you re: the cycle repeating, plus you would never be convincing people to make the same mistake since Rucks said no one would remember.
Also it seemed like Restoration was the more arrogant decision, more the decision of a colonizer in that you'd be making a choice for others who should really get to choose for themselves. The Kid didn't cause the Calamity so you can't even say that Restoration would be his making amends for his own wrong...even if magically undoing a wrong and forgetting all about it could be called making amends, which it can't.
3. I love the pike. Pike + carbine or cannon. I still have to do the new DLC dream with 10 idols, but I think I beat the old ones with pike + cannon.
no subject
Date: 2012-03-29 01:51 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2012-03-29 02:40 pm (UTC)I was the eleventh person to beat it on XBLA, however! (Some people have since beaten my time, and my ranking has gone down.)
no subject
Date: 2012-03-29 11:41 am (UTC)I recommend choosing Restoration at least once. :)
no subject
Date: 2012-03-29 01:35 pm (UTC)(Which is itself a choice; it's not like, in the real world, people who stroke their chins and say "It's all so complicated" are actually transcending whatever dispute they treat that way. But still. When I feel like the seams are showing in a particular part of a game, I steer away from that part.)
2) After the scene with Zulf's body and all the attacking Ura, I couldn't choose Evacuation. It seemed too self-centered... maybe not SELFISH, since as you point out, it was very hard to know which choice was actually better for other people... but self-centered.
In retrospect, I guess it was very much of a piece with my answer to your first question. I wanted to reject the idea that what really mattered was my judgment of the situation-- choosing Restoration meant everybody got to choose their own actions (again). It meant, paradoxically, really accepting that I might not be able to stop the Calamity just because I was the protagonist.
(Plus I seem to recall feeling like there was some aspect of the game's metaphysics that made a permanent loop seem unlikely, but I don't remember what it was and I was probably just rationalizing.)
3) Early on, I think I played with (poisoned) machete and a Breaker's bow, which seemed to allow for making as much progress as possible with tactics (picking things off with the bow) and then the most effective button-mashing once I was forced to wade in.
The Calamity Cannon's homing upgrade made it pretty much unstoppable, so I'm pretty sure I barely used any of the other weapons I paired it with, but iirc I ended up with the fire bellows (+ sticky flames) as backup.
I was excited about a second playthrough but lost interest almost immediately.
And yet, yeah, the fact that six months later I apparently remember the game clearly enough and care enough about its world-building to have an opinion about which weapons' names are properly capitalized and which aren't... they did a good job.
no subject
Date: 2012-03-29 01:48 pm (UTC)As for...
choosing Restoration meant everybody got to choose their own actions (again). It meant, paradoxically, really accepting that I might not be able to stop the Calamity just because I was the protagonist.
Well said. I think you just articulated what didn't sit right with me about Evacuation, and with the game overall. Bastion made me think about the themes of arrogance, bigotry, "our side knows best", etc in a very evocative way, but then left me forced into the role of Great White Savior. Maybe the closest thing to avoiding that is pressing the reset button... but if my motivation is not wanting the responsibility, even if it's because I don't feel I deserve it, does that justify abdicating it?
I'm either really impressed or slightly frustrated with this game, depending on how much of this is intentional. I'm guessing at least some of it is just the unintended consequence of it being "read" by a White Guy From Camberville, but still, I've never been this philosophically engaged by a game before, which I find really cool.
Brusher's Pike and Galleon Mortar
Date: 2012-03-29 02:39 pm (UTC)However, when I chose Restoration, I realized that without changing any variables, resetting time would just result in the same choices made. And that would only bring about the Calamity again. I do suggest playing New Game+ soon, so you can still appreciate the little changes, as there are some. That happens no matter what choice you made.
I think it was Border House that wrote about the colonization and racial issues surrounding Bastion. It's a good read.
Re: Brusher's Pike and Galleon Mortar
Date: 2012-03-29 03:41 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2012-04-01 11:37 pm (UTC)The game? Nothing that hasn't already been said.
But gods, there were times later on in the game where I (as the Kid) wanted to [stalk away from / refuse to speak to / slap / cuss out] the Narrator for his unthinking arrogance.
Which ending did you choose and why?
On my first playthrough, Restoration. It's been a while since I played, so I can't remember all of the reasons behind it, but one was this: It seemed like in a Restoration, everything would be restored... except perhaps those of us in the Bastion might carry something over. If that'd be enough to prevent the Calamity, that was a clear choice. If not, I knew I was up to the task of rebuilding the Bastion, and could choose Evacuation next time - the choice was hard enough that it seemed likely any carryover from the previous iteration would nudge me in that direction.
(There were other reasons more directly pertaining to the individuals involved, but I can't recall them now.)
What weapon/skill combos did you enjoy the most?
I played around with a fair number of combinations; my favorite weapons ended up being (in no particular order) the Hammer, Carbine, Mortar, and Musket, with Pistols and Bow being second-layer favorites. I'd tend to select weapon combos based on how I anticipated fighting (esp. for stages I'd failed or already played through, where I had an idea of foes + environment).
Favorite early-game combo: Bow + Machete (or Hammer).
Favorite mid-game combo: Musket (or Carbine) + Pistols.
Favorite late-game combo: Carbine + Mortar.
Favorite end-game / second-game combo: Hammer + Mortar. (Getting "Attacks Ignore Armor" for the first and "Immunity to Bomb Damage" for the second filled this with stompy goodness.)
I'd occasionally use a weapon-based Special Skill, but would more frequently use Proximity Mines or some other "Hurt the enemy even if I don't have time to aim" ability.