First Wonder Coming to Consoles
Indie developer Rogue Rocket Games have announced a partnership with independent console developer and publisher GRIP Digital to bring their upcoming First Wonder to the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One.
First Wonder Kickstarter Launched
Indie developer Rogue Rocket Games has launched the Kickstarter campaign for their third-person action adventure game First Wonder, described as a hilarious, genre-bending spiritual successor to the critically-acclaimed classics MDK and Giants: Citizen Kabuto!
First Wonder Playable at TwitchCon
Indie Dev Rogue Rocket Games – whose co-founders Nick Bruty and Richard Sun previously worked on MDK, Giants: Citizen Kabuto, Earthworm Jim, and Star Wars: Republic Commando – will share their updated hands-on “early look” multiplayer demo of First Wonder with TwitchCon attendees, where they’ll go head-to-head against Rogue Rocket Games themselves. As the terrifying giant “Monstro”, players must evade or destroy all opposition in their way, using a repertoire of destructive abilities and surprising interactions within the environment, as Monstro works towards fulfilling a foreboding prophecy.
The Binding of Isaac
The Binding of Isaac is an action adventure RPG by Edmund McMillen and Florian Himsl, the developers of Super Meat Boy. I got this game via the Humble Voxatron Debut..
I was initially repulsed by the graphics for this game.. a crying boy surrounded by mutated tormentors.. and the story isn’t much nicer. Apparently, it’s based on a Hebrew Bible story in which God asks Abraham to sacrifice his son, Isaac, and he binds him before leaving him on an altar to die..
In the game, Isaac’s mother begins to hear the voice of God.. who initially tells her that Isaac is unclean, causing her to take away his toys and lock him in his room.. but later demands she sacrifice him to prove her devotion! To escape, Isaac dives into the basement, where he encounters mutated creatures.. lost brothers and sisters..
To fight these monsters, poor Isaac fires his tears at them.. some, like the squishy-headed thing above, don’t fight back.. while others are immediately hostile.
There are a variety of power-ups and items available too, giving stronger ‘arrows’, shielding or bombs. The loot from one chest included a yellow bomb with a face.. which I just about recognised as trollface.. just as it exploded, taking away a heart 😮
I’ve had a few forays into the game now, and while the dungeons, loot, enemies and bosses are all randomised, so far each basement I’ve seen has had a treasure room, a shop, and a room with a boss..
The first boss I encountered was Monstro.. who slaughtered me when I got a little too close!
Fighting isn’t complex at all.. if anything it feels a bit cheap as you can just kite the enemy around the room while shooting. Monstro jumps, landing on the place the player had been standing; easy enough to avoid so long as you don’t get yourself trapped in the corner as I did 😉
The second boss I’ve faced was more repulsive still.. Gemini features conjoined twins: the larger one chases Isaac and strangles him if he gets close enough, while the smaller one intermittently vomits a shower of blood at Isaac!
This boss moves quickly, and I was glad of the rocks to hide behind.. though he did catch up with me on this attempt. When Isaac dies, it’s game over.. there is no save game system.. you just get to see his Last Will. 😉
The music is actually very good too..
It’s not often I really notice the music in games (especially since I spend a lot of my gaming time on Mumble) but it really adds to the feeling of despair and sadness. Ok.. I’m off to go hug the kitties now!