EPIC FANTASY REBORN The next chapter in the highly anticipated Elder Scrolls saga arrives from the makers of the 2006 and 2008 Games of the Year, Bethesda Game Studios. Skyrim reimagines and revolutionizes the open-world fantasy epic, bringing to life a complete virtual world open for you to explore any way you choose.

What We Think:

You may be wondering why a site called Indie Game Reviewer is covering The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim – a massive AAA title from a well established company like Bethesda that will sell millions of copies. Let me explain:

Way back when Oblivion was named game of the year and there was all sorts of hubbub around Bethesda’s upcoming post-apocalyptic FPS “Fallout 3″, I jumped into the fecund Elder Scrolls modding community and downloaded everything I could to see how far I could push the engine and make the game look and play as good as it possibly could on my souped up PC, often to the chagrin of my gf who would load her last save to discover that things weren’t quite the same as the last time she had left it.

Just like DOOM evolved into a better, more imaginative and multiplayer game through its transparent code sharing and custom mod user base – (and arguably established the foundation for the biggest games on the market today) the Elder Scrolls community rose up to the challenge and made a good thing better, investing their own blood, sweat and tears to improve an exciting concept to its ultimate potential. And perhaps the contribution from these indie devs deserves as much credit for the astounding result that is Skyrim as the 150+ employees who lovingly built this exemplary title. (In other words – WordPress is incredible, but it can not be attributed to the mind of one man – its success and ubiquity are a tribute to its community).

As an aside, I do not wish in the very slightest to take away from the work done by the Bethesda team. The care and passion they have poured into their work should be commended at every level and they deserve all the accolades they are due. Having said that, let’s press on:

In Oblivion mod-land, independently created mods (that now number in the hundreds, if not thousands) included everything from better flora wherein harvested plants would actually remove the blossoms so that you’d know you had already picked them (Realistic Flora and Harvest[Flora] mods), to enhanced night skies, city beautification, weather, AI hacks that altered the aggro range for guards and dozens more.

Skyrim seems to have included all of these mods and much more. In fact, even on the now venerable XBOX 360 platform it looks like the dream-modded version of all its predecessors.

From the very first frame, Skyrim thrusts you into an incredibly well-shot movie experience that guides you along its rails through character creation, gameplay tutorials and plot without ever breaking stride.

My first play session lasted 12 straight hours, and a lot of that time involved me staring at the screen, mouth agape, in total wonder at what I was seeing. I often found myself just gazing at the scenery (thanks are in order to Natural Environments and Qarl’s Texture Pack mods for raising the bar). I even got busted by my girlfriend for taking pictures of the screen with my point and shoot camera. In response to her quizzical stare, I scrolled back a couple of pics on the camera and showed her some of her snaps from her recent trip to Lake Tahoe. The images were almost interchangeable. It looks that good.

Much of this is due to the implementation of Bethesda’s new Creation Engine that includes dynamic lighting, depth of field, allows shadows to be cast by any object in the game, and even weight on the branches of trees in tandem with the Havok Behavior Toolset[1]. Whereas in previous iterations Elder Scrolls displayed snow as a texture map, with the Creation Engine, snow falls and weighs upon the world dynamically. Water looks real. Mist forms and burns off the mountain peaks. Flocks of birds fly by at random intervals, appearing to dart and wheel with the winds that you can almost feel whipping through the valleys between mountain crags.

But it isn’t just about looks; in fact the gameplay is so much more seamless – from the way that you have conversations (gone are the default clunky subtitles that used to render the recorded speech both redundant and bothersome and force an NPC closeup – in fact now the third-person view is a full-featured play experience unto itself – special thanks to the Third Person Crosshair mod for showing the way) to the fluidity of the HUD (kudos to BTmod for showing, not telling how to do it), the streamlined approach to crafting your own wares (from alchemy to smithing which are now not only intuitive but totally enjoyable), to the questing to-do list. Add to which, and this is really no aside, Skyrim features what the devs call the Radiant Quest System – procedurally generated quests based on your progression and choices in the game that essentially means you will never run out of things to do.

Everything is improved in this paradigm-shifter, and at long last the Elder Scrolls franchise feels not so much like a massive experimental RPG as it does a legitimately engaging, cinematic gaming experience for the times.

There are too many improvements to list, but I must address a few more, since Bethesda deserves huge props for listening to its audience as well as it has. Riding a horse is now a much easier and pleasurable experience, in spite of the many hilarious physics-defying screenshots that have emerged of mounted riders scaling cliffsides at 75 degree angles.

This pic is the copyright of whomever created it. If that's you let me know. It has since gone viral.

Managing one’s inventory is no longer a case study in frustration. Level-synced items are a thing of the past, which truly makes this an open-world experience. (This was modded in Oblivion by Francesco’s leveled creatures/items mod).

The leveling up process is not only simplified, but a thing of beauty – a dedicated and gorgeous astrologically-themed interface that actually makes sense; I always dreaded leveling up in previous chapters of the franchise because not only was I overwhelmed with options, but rarely did I really sense an impact in the decisions I was making. This is no longer a problem. Now you are presented with three options at each level – Magicka, Health or Stamina as a base bonus, and subsequently a perk (certainly derived from Fallout 3 etc) along a talent tree. The elegance is in the presentation, and in this case, the graphical treatment makes all the difference.

Interestingly, a spell that is above your level can still be learned, but Bethesda elegantly manages this by simple virtue of the fact that you won’t yet have enough Magicka stores to cast it.

Another side-effect of this open-level world, in spite of the Radiant Quest System mentioned above, is that you will sometimes find yourself grinding away at local wildlife when seemingly every quest progression knocks you flat on your ass. I found this to be the case around levels 10 through 12 for example. But not to worry, there are over 350 “places” (that include dungeons, caves, open-area situations and otherwise) already built into the world for you to work it out.

Le Sound

In 2010, indie FPS Amnesia demonstrated the power of good sound design by scaring the wits out of players with little more than cleverly placed stereo cues. In Skyrim, the same effect can be found with a highly dynamic sound palette that whispers and booms, giving critical spatial auditory cues about the landscape and its threats.

Verbal performances are top notch, employing naturalistic, casual albeit emotional exchanges with literally every character onscreen. This may be due, in no small part to the extraordinary talent pool assembled for this outing. Central characters are voiced by the likes of Christopher Plummer, Max Von Sydow, Michael Hogan, Joan Allen and even everyone’s favorite Wonder Woman – Lynda Carter. In all there are over 60,000 lines of recorded dialogue. Um, holy s$%#! That means that there are also more than one actor for each of the races – in other words no more Craig Sechler as “all the elves”. In fact the voice production was so rich, that even voicers for NPC’s like “common woman” had much to say. Read actress Ellen Dubin‘s interview about working on some of the “background” characters.

The music in Skyrim, composed by Jeremy Soule is utterly sublime – fully orchestrated 20th century compositions featuring a 30 person choir that always seem perfectly suited for any given setting. Again, I often found myself just daydreaming in a dark corner of some random dungeon just so I could hear the music play through. When the music wasn’t preparing me for calamities of epic proportions, it afforded Brian Eno-esque contemplations to back the indelible oil-painting-grade panoramas of flowing waterfalls bursting through diffused sunlight poking through symbolically shaped rents in the granite domes beneath which I prepared my equipment for the next confrontation.

SkyGripes

The only thing I wish Bethesda had implemented from its recent Fallout titles is the V.A.T.S. system. I may catch some heat for this, perhaps because it might make the role-players feel the game is less naturalistic, or immersive or something, but swinging weapons at wolves in the hinterlands can still feel like a rather sloppy affair. Sometimes you simply can’t see what you are swinging at, or you are able to strike an enemy that appears to be ten feet away. In either case, I have become so accustomed to using V.A.T.S. to deal with combat that this felt like a sore omission in favor of the purists. If you can use V.A.T.S. on a mutant mole rat in Fallout Vegas, why not on a hinterland bear or Sabretooth?

An example of V.A.T.S. - from the Bethesda blog.

Also, there is still the occasional, if not frequent annoyance with NPC pathfinding where I would often be in mid conversation with an NPC as they are fidgeting to get through a portal to another zone, and a pile-up of escaping NPCs would ensue leading to a mess of arms, legs and faces piling up behind my chatty informant.

Similarly, there were often verbal cues that would repeat to annoyance, as if I was being pushed to clear out of an area. Examples that come to mind are in Helgen when you are told to search the chests for a weapon (which gets repeated on a 2 second loop), or the Jarl of Whiterun’s son who kept telling me I should leave to the point that I was tempted to knock his head off with my two-handed warhammer just to get him to shut up, but in spite of the lack of a moral thermometer, I just didn’t feel like sabotaging my faction standing with the Imperials. Fortunately, children can not be harmed in the game, regardless of how you feel about them, a carry-over from the laws of previous games, which I agree with.[2]

I also wish the devs had implemented fast travel from interiors as was demonstrated by the Fast Travel From Interiors mod: not sure if this is a “law of the universe” decision or a technical one, but in the game play, it just feels like an unneeded time suck.

Finally, with the initial launch there are bugs that still need be worked out. Bethesda is already working on a patch for XBOX 360 gamers to correct graphical issues that arise when playing from a version of the game that has been installed to the hard drive. At this time they recommend only playing from the disc (which is a bit of a buzzkill since those load times between zones can eat up a lot of your already-shortened daylight hours). Also, there were a few funny instances where trying to select the Magic screen froze the game solid and we had to restart the console. It may have been a corrupted save/zone, but we were able to recreate the problem six or seven times and had to revert to an earlier save. (This happened during the Golden Dragon Claw quest). But I am quite sure these will get resolved in the next patch.

One more for the road...

Oh and there are no glitches that I have found thus far in hunting dragons. In fact, the experience of doing so is truly awesome. I don’t know how they did it, but they got it right.

How Can It Be Wrong When It Feels So Right?

You won’t need my small voice in the chorus of opera singers to tell you that Skyrim is an absolute masterwork in gaming. But I’ll say it anyway. This is as good as it gets. You can not ask for a more engaging, astounding, entertaining, cinematic (yes I’m looking at you Carmack) experience for the PC or gaming console anywhere else in the market today. I felt it was important to give proper respects to the indie devs that also helped make it that way.

And behold, the top ten lists on Skyrim mods have already begun!

1, 2: As noted in the Wikipedia entry for the game found at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Elder_Scrolls_V:_Skyrim

The Elder Scrolls Mod Resources

TESNexus

Planet Elder Scrolls

Learn More About Skyrim

Get Skyrim on Steam

Get Skyrim for XBOX 360

Visit the Official Skyrim Site

Rating: ★★★★★ 

A rock-solid combination of rock-rolling action, deep strategy, and captivating art and music from different ages of history, this is a game of crush or be crushed! Two castles stand opposed; one is yours, the other is your enemy’s. They’re a jerk and their castle sucks, so you’re going to try to smash it using an enormous boulder.

What We Think

Strategy, gravity and the ability to squish Monty Python-esque cutouts, all the while surrounded by stirring historical art and period-inspired music. What more could one ask? Game Creators Ace Team have bowled up a solid strike.

Sweet flare!

This Old Man Came Rolling Home

Poor ol’ Sisyphus. He has been tasked by Hades to eternally roll a rock up a steep incline. Without fail, once he reaches a certain altitude, a vile imp pokes his posterior, causing Sis to lose his grip on the rock. With Hades looking on, he has no choice but to start his upward shove anew.

It dawns on Sisyphus that crushing the imp and deliberately hurtling the rock down the hill might provide him with the means to escape. Sure enough, one crushed imp and two flattened doors later, Sisyphus opens up a portal that allows him to slip the confines of damnation. To complete his flight, he and his trusty rock must travel through time, vanquishing tyrants by knocking down the gates to their fortresses, and squishing them.

Knock, knock!

Marble Madness? THIS…IS…nah, too easy…

Rock of Ages makes great use of the Unreal Engine to create a game that is part Marble Madness, part tower defense. The ultimate goal in each stage is a repeated race to the bottom of the hill, where the gates of the level’s boss can be found, and to squish said boss to great comic effect. Using the WASD keys to steer the rock (using the space bar to jump), and the mouse to control the camera, the player must successfully navigate down a treacherous path to the gates. Going over the side will result in the hand of God dropping the rock at the nearest checkpoint, but this can cost precious seconds.

Once a rock strikes the doors, the process of building a new one begins again. The damage done to the gate will depend on the momentum gained by the rock, as well as the rock’s overall integrity. All of this must be completed while the enemy is rolling a rock towards the gates of Sisyphus. The first side to squish the leader of other side takes it all.

A small amount of currency will be available to the player as a round commences. These funds can be spent to purchase defensive units or upgrades to the rock itself. Each rock takes time to carve, and whilst waiting, the map screen is presented. Towers, projectile units and creatures need to be placed to deter the enemy. The enemy will also set up deterrents in the path of the player. Once the boulder is carved, upgrades can be applied to increase the attack power before it sets on its course downward. Making contact with the enemy gates will effectively end the turn, and a new rock will be carved.

Can't pass through the Medieval era without slaying a dragon...

He Gathers No Moss

Each rock has a health bar that will chipped away as offensive obstacles are encountered, so avoidance is the key to effecting the most damage, though a rock that sustains enough damage will become smaller, and smaller boulders do less damage when they contact gates. Funds will be awarded, the amount of which depends on the force of the impact. On the other side of the coin, taking the time to smash units, bystanders and passive structures will also fill the coffers for the next round of assault, though it may mean less damage to the gates for the round.

Replays of a level seem to generate a new enemy defense layout each time, thus ensuring the player must stay on his toes. Few moments in the game are more infuriating that being pincered between projectile units and herd units until almost nothing remains of the rock and it is knocked haplessly off the side of a crevasse. Worse yet, a quick peek at the “enemy boulder” view indicates how the AI has found a hole in the defense by making use of an obvious shortcut in the map that completely circumvents the expensive array of placed units. Restart level? Not happy about it, but yes, please…

Yet, after learning the ins and outs(and downs), even a few senseless beatings can’t deter the overall pleasure of hearing a famous historical dictator squeal like a girl on helium seconds before he goes gets flattened.

All the dancing in the world can't save them now

A leisurely (st)roll through art history

The level of presentation is worthy of praise; there is a huge amount of research behind each era of art history. Iconic era-based imagery from great artistic periods abounds: Each stage is introduced with hilarious vignettes that will immediately remind Monty Python fans of the Flying Circus. Some of history’s most famous paintings of the heroes and villains of yore are splashed up on the screen where they sputter nonsensical gibberish and flail their limbs wildly, oftentimes lampooning current day pop-culture (The Matrix, The Lord of the Rings, 300, and even Castlevania all get their jabs). On the battlefield, crudely painted denizens meander about each stage, while famous statues reach up into the skies. The heavens in the renaissance period are displayed as an enormous astral chart splayed across the sky. Cut scenes and levels alike are accompanied by richly composed orchestral music that is both playful and intense.

Set your traps. Select your upgrades.

Good ol’ Rock. Nothing beats rock

Once all foes have been vanquished, there is still the option to take the rock to the hoop with other players. Play head to head online or split-screen on the same rig. For players looking to hone their rolling skills before tackling enemies (AI or player controlled), there is also a skeeball training level. Time trials can be taken on to prove ultimate mastery over a stage.

Rock of Ages is gorgeous visuals, devious opponents and wicked strategic elements all rolled up in a ball. For a mere $10, you too can bowl over the world of art history.

Buy Rock of Ages at Steam Powered for USD $9.99

Rating: ★★★★½ 

Click here to view the embedded video.

In this Insanely Twisted, 2-D action-adventure game, explore unique environments and battle bizarre creatures as you make your way toward the center of the mysterious Shadow Planet! Solve complex puzzles and upgrade your ship with alien technology as you fight to save your home world.

What We Think

Five years in the making, Insanely Twisted Shadow Planet – released as part of the XBOX Live Summer Arcade and the brainchild of Joe Olson, CEO of Fuelcell Games, and filmmaker and animator Michel Gagne – is the product of two very talented gentlemen who decided to take a break from what they were doing in the animation industry and dive into the world of video games with little gaming experience but a plethora of ideas.

In fact, Gagne has admitted he hadn’t played any new games in almost fifteen years but his animation work on The Iron Giant and Star Wars: The Clone Wars attracted Olson’s attention. The result is a multi-layered game with Flash-style 2D animation that actually delivers and has led the new-found dev team to almost be ready to quit their day jobs.

So what exactly have these guys wrought?

In the wake of an intergalactic scourge that unleashes all manner of mutated greeblies, ITDP has you maneuver a small three-dimensional flying saucer around an ever-writhing 2D background that recalls the suggestive macabre silhouette illustration style of 2010′s indie breakout hit Limbo, with all the quirky trappings (both musically and spiritually) of Tim Burton’s Beetlejuice. As you endeavor to escape from your infested homeworld, you gather a healthy series of upgrades (ten different tools in total) that enable you to solve puzzles, fire a weapon at aliens, and modify elements of the landscape in the spirit of escape and ultimately freedom from the plague of mutants.

While any form of tutorial is rendered by virtue of non-language based, abstract illustrations and animation, the design thankfully gets all the bare essentials right, with frequent save points that double as healing sanctuaries and a multi-use map that is revealed as you explore any given level, while also beckoning, in a non-linear way, towards points of interest.

One of the first tools you acquire is a scanner that lets you analyze objects in the level, and then it shows a symbolic image that indicates how to interact with that object, adding that symbol to your map. In fact, the abstraction of the tutorial works in that it suggests, but does not overtly answer how to address any given challenge, so one learns by solving. A nice touch that throws you into the correct frame of mind from the outset.

Obvious Super Metroid references aside, the game also recalls the multi-directional shooter Sub-Terrania that also involved defeating aliens, whilst freeing comrades, using an experimental flying saucer, but compounds elements of last year’s indie hits Hydorah or Limbo, in that it involves a mechanical arm with which you can push and pull objects to open a path forward.

While there are at least ten different upgrades/tools that can be accessed from a circular menu, only one can be used at any given time, while four can be mapped to one of four hotkeys, or in this case, the XBOX controller’s X,Y,B,A buttons. Some challenges require switching between several tools to complete, and the action does not pause while you bring up your tools menu, so these hotkeys can save your butt in a crunch. Because blasting your way out of these conundrums is not always the option, we call it a 2D multi-directional puzzle shooter, though that may still be an oversimplification. In fact at first it seemed like this may be a truly innovative mashup of gameplay styles.

Sprawling scenarios and full-screen bosses give the game an epic sense of scope, but never beyond your level of advancement. In fact I may insert a slight critique here, if I must, that though the bosses look awfully menacing, their bark is often far worse than their bite – they aren’t very challenging and in this regard, the game at times comes a bit too close to being a matter of rinse and repeat; what at first appears to be a vast palette of options indeed suddenly becomes a limited toolset to be used in a finite number of combinations.

An example of better separation between normal level challenges vs. big boss fights is the Lost Planet series where, upon completing a level you are met with an absolutely enormous boss that draws on everything you have learned and practiced during that level, but raises the challenge to the power of ten of taking as long as the level itself to master.

ITSP’s failure to ignite as much interest in the gaming community as one might hope, may be due, in part, to the fact that it shares the best traits of a lot of other games, but doesn’t ultimately break much new ground, to speak of. It is elegantly put together, a very smooth play experience with outstanding design elements both in graphics, music and sound, (in fact the devs had to create custom code to handle the almost cinematic animation style, foregoing more traditional bone-animation) but in the end it’s just a variation on several now rather familiar themes. There is an interesting multiplayer mode challenge called Lantern Run that involves a twist on co-op play, and completing stages unlocks concept art, but all told the game runs quite short, at most a couple of solid hours to complete.

Perhaps the most significant selling point for ITSP is as an interactive ultra-hip animated work of art, though again, it is a full on game in its own right. Sometimes meditative, sometimes maddeningly hectic, and mercifully devoid of any implementation issues, it is well-deserving of a look. At the time of this writing, the game is exclusive to XBOX 360 Live Arcade, but we can’t wait to see a port to Steam so that it gets more of the attention it deserves. Let’s hope, in the event of such a port, that it retains all the polish of the XBOX release.

For those considered with the less-than epic length of the game, the good news is that a DLC called “Insanely Twisted Shadow Planet: Shadow Hunters” has been promised for a September 2011 release that, among other things, extends the co-op experience.

Visit the Insanely Twisted Shadow Planet Official Site

Get Insanely Twisted Shadow Planet at the XBOX Live Marketplace

Rating: ★★★★☆ 

When indie game developers Alexey and Markus are in trouble, their only hope comes from their creation.

You are the Tetrobot: a tiny robot that can drill blocks of matter one by one, collect them, and recycle them into new pieces of 4 blocks. You also have the possibility to destroy lines of 8+ blocks in a very «retro russian» game style.

Sand, wood, stone, obsidian, iron, diamond: each matter has its specific behaviour you’ll have to use wisely and take advantage of them. So get ready to use your brain and combine your platforming and puzzle-solving skills in this incredible mashup!

What We Think

Blocks That Matter (winner of the Dream.Build.Play 2011 Challenge) is quick, slick, and wickedly challenging. It will topple your brain, Jenga style, and you’ll come back for more.

Indie Beginning…

BTM wastes no time giving playful nods to indie game culture. The game is set in Sweden (the home of all indie games), and features two indie game programmers, Alexei and Markus, who have achieved fame for their previous works. The anticipation surrounding their latest unreleased work proves to be too much for two gunmen to handle, and the programmers are kidnapped at gunpoint. Unbeknownst to the bad guys, Alexei and Markus were actually developing an adorable drilling robot. It’s up to Tetrobot to save his creators!

Tetrobot can collect some materials by drilling them or by hopping up twice underneath a block. A block inventory can be seen on the bottom of the screen. To the left of this is a tetramino counter. One of Tetrobot’s programming restrictions is that he can only place blocks as tetrominos (think Tetris blocks…any shape comprised of four other squares). To do this, Tetrobot must enter construction mode. This will also freeze the action around him.

In Soviet Russia, you get locked up for making Soviet Russia jokes

All blocks are not created equally, and will react differently based on how they are positioned. Sand blocks and obsidian blocks will fall to the ground if not supported by another block, for example. Though obsidian blocks can’t be drilled, they can still be dropped into place. Using sand blocks in positions where they will fall away can come in handy when creating platforms in tight spaces. A block can be reclaimed if it can be smashed or drilled. If for some reason the blocks have fallen unfavorably, Tetrobot can self-destruct to reset a stage.

Thus in order to complete a level, you have to drill at the resource in the first place (sometimes it is challenging enough trying to figure out how to get it into your inventory, let alone to the portal) in order to have the opportunity to deploy it. It requires some mental reverse-engineering to avoid hitting the self-destruct button and getting through.

As if solving puzzles isn’t difficult enough on its own, there are enemies to contend with as well. Slimes will first damage and then destroy Tetrobot. Fireballs will unnerve as they tail you around like something out of Donkey Kong (except these are bigger). The player will have to avoid all enemies and position his tetrominos just right to reach the warp gate at the end of each stage.

Mama Slime isn't into negotiating

What’s Your Hurry?

In some stages, Tetrobot may spy treasure chest blocks. These can be drilled much like the others, only reaching them will not be as easy. Collecting on of these blocks and completing the stage will award the player with a Block that Matters: a nod to one of several other great block-based games (such as Lode Runner, Ilomilo, Minecraft and Tetris).

Once awarded, BTMs can be seen in the level select screen. They list the game, and the platforms it was available on. Besides the ingenious tip-of-the-hat to great block games of yore, these will also stack to unlock additional challenging bonus puzzles.

Block is the New Black

Blocks that Matter sports crisp, bright graphics, and some nicely done contempo ambient music. The screens seen in the game’s introduction also contain some impressive artwork. The character sprites aren’t overly complex, but have a light, cartoon-like feel to them that fit the slightly absurd storyline.

The level designs are nothing shy of ingenious. The BTMs scattered throughout the game will undoubtedly call out to any self-respecting puzzle enthusiast, and demand multiple playthroughs of some levels. The bonus levels will call upon puzzle-solving and platform gaming skills combined.

Though at times, Blocks that Matter can be frustrating, it is never at the fault of bad design. Mixing a combination of game play elements, from puzzler, to platformer and a post-modern self-referential storyline to boot, it is endearing enough to keep even less ambitious players engaged. There are more than forty stages to conquer, and bonus levels to unlock besides.

Blocks that Matter on Steam

Get Blocks that Matter on Xbox Live Indie for 240 Microsoft Points.

From Dust is the latest original game concept by Eric Chahi, creator of the cult classic, “Another World / Out of this World”. Immerse yourself in a world as exotically beautiful as it is dangerous! You control the destiny of a primitive tribe against the backdrop of a world in constant evolution—a universe where mighty Nature reclaims…

What We Think

UPDATE 08-24-2011: Ubisoft has announced that in two weeks they will supply a patch that will remove the need for online authentication and alternatively are offering a refund.

From the editor: [First let's address the elephant in the room: Ubisoft upset a lot of people after promising to play nice with DRM and then seemingly went back on this promise by forcing Steam buyers to sign up for a secondary account with them, and requiring an online connection to be able to run the game (despite the fact that Ubisoft claims it is only needed for the initial game start up, but effectively obliterating the possibility for a true offline mode.) Add to which (or maybe impassioned by this sour taste left in their mouths) people reported that the port to PC was glitch-ridden and all kinds of frustrating in terms of video settings. May be so.

In a nutshell, From Dust has launched on the PC with a very bad reputation, which is a terrible shame for the developers who have put together a game that, at least on XBOX 360, was a stellar outing.]

On to the review proper:

From Dust is an enticing game by Ubisoft Montpellier for the Xbox Live’s Summer of Arcade for 2011. As it followed the great game of Bastion, one can only wonder on how it holds up. With the recent flood of crafting games such as Minecraft or Terraria one could easily confuse this for a crafting game. This is actually a “god game” that allows you to modify terrain; using elements available on the level such as dirt, lava and water you can craft the land to protect your villages and their people.

Vegetation is released around villages once they are built which grow on dirt as long it is connected to current vegetation. Vegetation will unlock more “memories of the tribe” which help explain the game. Plants are a bit more complex, there are 3 different types of plants:

1. Phoenix-plants which periodically bursts into flames causing vegetation to catch fire all around it.
2. Water trees which soaks up water and reacts to heat by spewing out all of it’s water to cause a flood effect.
3. Exploding trees which react to heat by exploding, this creates a crater in which liquids can easily be directed into.

If you thought that wasn’t enough then you would be correct in your thoughts as the developers even added in-village knowledge which means a village can gain the knowledge to hold back water or/and fire and lava making them difficult but not impossible to flood with water, melt with lava or catch on fire. The other villages gain this knowledge when they have been established and the knowledge is passed to them from a messenger whom must make it to the village before it is too late. This can make for an exciting race between man and element.

Proper coordination of land and water displacement leads to the above vegetation patterns that in turn leads to population of the territory by wildlife. As these otherwise seemingly insignificant feats are accomplished and certain lore and unlockables open, at times, the benefits of good landscaping seem somewhat incidental.

Furthermore there have been complaints of the mouse controls not being up to par with PC port although after a while I didn’t notice much of an issue. I also heard that because that it was a port that the graphics didn’t work with a good portion of PC’s but people must expect a degree of “console-like” controls because this was initially released for the XBLA summer event. With respect to these facts the game seems to stand strong on its own.

All told, From Dust is an exciting venture into the god game sphere. At times I found myself simply crafting the world and trying out variations far beyond what the goal demanded because the physics and visuals are a true marvel to interact with. The graphics are a reflection of the very latest computing has to offer, the sound design is incredible, and the element of ancient wisdom certainly works to lend another layer of intrigue. If you can forgive the various marketing and consumer relations missteps, From Dust is more than worthy of your attention. If you can play it on an XBOX 360, you may feel more like the gods of gaming are smiling down on you.

From Dust on Steam

From Dust for XBOX 360 at XBOX Marketplace

Rating: ★★★★½