Game OST: Life Goes On

Listen to the tracks here!

Get the game here!

Buy the OST here!

There's something about this OST that keeps me coming for more and leaves me hopeful in general.

I don't know, I just wanted to share this made by one of the most underrated composers I knew from last year.

I hope to God that Kevin Greenlee will continue to inspire and even touch the hearts of gamers and music lovers out there.

Article: Four Types of gamers in Steam Community

There are four types of gamers I found in Steam. Given that they are all gamers, they all carry a role which gives a color in the gaming community.




As I mention them, they will get relatively clear to those who are curious and to those who seek enlightenment on the subject.



First off we have The Collector; the collector is clearly the ones who collect games and has less time to play them all. Be it that he/she already played them before, they tend to itch their way to buy them even just for displays. I have nothing against those who are given that I tend to incline my way on getting even publisher’s collection. To name a few, I was supposed to buy only Dungeon Siege 3 this year but ended up buying even its two previous releases. If there was a collection of Command & Conquer I would certainly buy & mostly likely if they’re on sale.

The downside is that they tend to have too many games to play and little time to play them. The good thing is they’re prone from getting compliments from other users as they find the list of games.



Secondly, The Reviewer who simply buys games and reviews them. Be it new releases or old just to give their personal thoughts on and provide insights mainly to those who hasn’t bought the game or curious of why the game is so good (or less) to others.

The downside is not all users will agree on their reviews though in the first place it’s just their personal thoughts and do not represent on a greater scale of majority.



The Giver is the ones who give away games for free, usually you find them as admin in a group or two. Organizing events to giveaways with or without a purpose for the benefit of the group they’re in.

Like The Collector, they are also prone to get compliments but little more from the others & tend to get to know good friends along the way. The thing is, they can also be targets of beggars or other users with bad intentions in the community.



Lastly, The Trader; this user means business and often trade games, in game & special items with others for both or their own benefit. The trading system in Steam can be very addicting especially on annual events where they tend to shine. Apparently almost all of the users in the community will try to trade what’s in their inventory for something they want.

Trading is addicting and fun, like an introduction to gamers on how trading business works however the downside is that Traders tend to spend so much money especially on special occasions. Therefore it is best for them to earn more money till the next event comes and make some huge trades.



At some point, you’ll come across a user who represents more than one category. But at the end of the day we’re all gamers and just want to play the games we love. After all, games are for everyone and I’m happy to see them around in the community.



Play on, play hard and game on!

Bit.Trip Beat & Bit.Trip Runner Review (PC version on Steam)

Developer(s)                 Gaijin Games

Publisher(s)                 Aksys Games

Platform                       PC (though it’s also out on Wii, iOS and Nintendo 3DS)

Release date                 Nov. 2010 (Bit.Trip Beat), Feb 2011 (Bit.Trip Runner)

Genre(s)                       Indie games, Retro, Action, Platform (Runner)

Mode(s)                        Single Player, Multiplayer (Beat)

Rating(s)                      ESRB: E PEGI: 3

                                   

The other day I had a chat with an old gamer friend who mentioned me something that she likes to play mindless games and just to kill time. From that moment she said the word “mindless” it reminded me back to the two indie games from Gaijin I bought from Steam. Bit.Trip Beat and Runner, bothe are priced on 10US$ each so I took liberty on buying them less than 5$ during Steam’s annual event called Summer Camp Sale       

 And here's the hero in the game:

                                    

Presentation:

One word that came from my mind when I first saw both games and that is “Retro”. The Beat version reminded me of Atari’s “Pong” with a mix of beat music with colorful effects while Runner is like an 8bit version of our today's Doritos Crash Course on Xbox 360 and also both moves as accordingly from the beat of the music. Both are representing a retro feel in the game and that’s actually where it shines. A nostalgic feel will attack old gamers with a modern charm mix that also welcomes the new era of gamers.

Graphics:

Basically a beat down 8 bit element doesn’t take a lot of efforts on animations but it works perfectly well given to today’s society in promoting the old back to make it anew. Mixing it up with colors will not bore the eyes and will appeal you with the environment.

                                Bit.Trip Beat: from a black & white screen that bring you the oldies...

                                To this modern theme and catchy tunes.

Gameplay:

On Beat version you control a paddle like Pong, but the movement of each blocks changes when you’re dealing with them and each behaves differently depending on their colors and shapes. The more you successfully hit the blocks the better beats you will receive and that’s where one of the charms of the game comes from. In Runner however, it plays like a platform as you control CommanderVideo (although you control him also in Runner version and the rest of the Bit.Trip games) through the obstacles. like the Beat version, it also plays accordingly with the beat of the music, everytime you initiate and action to evade an obstacle you will hear a tone that will register to the beat to form an appealing sound to the music and when you get a certain "plus object" the beat will evolve from a retro chiptune version to a catchy tune that most likely will stuck in your head for a while. Both games are simple to play however they’re hard to master. Precision is essential for both games, fortunately the tune keeps you motivated enough to each an extra mile and possibliy push for perfection. Note that the Beat version controls on a mouse and Runner controls on a keyboard but plays swell on a gamepad.

                              Bit.Trip Runner: easy in just running round through obsticles

                               Better tunes comes in as soon as you get those Rainbow on your back

Audio:

Aside from the retro environment of game, the tune helps in to create a nostalgia aura which then in my case, re-invented the wheel of retro gaming in me. However, the tune will get catchier as you play it overtime. It’s no joke that when I reached to that point It put a smile on my face.

Overall:

Retro gaming does not come often nowadays but it’s an amazing how they catch a gamer’s attention such as me on the right sport and music. It made me remember my times with the Atari 2600. Both games are a nice time wasting games and to add that the Beat version can also allow you to tweet and/or share your progress on Facebook for a price of 10US$ each, it’s worth every penny (unless if it’s on sale from steam again then go buy it/them without hesitation). I am proud to say that Gaijin is one of those rare game devs that surprisingly restructured the essense of retro gaming. I hope to God that they will last longer to be in the gaming industry to infinity...and beyond.

Score    9

Pro(s)

That 8 bit nostalgia

Catchy tune

Simple gameplay

Con(s)

Hard to master gameplay

Sometimes colors can be a little bit flashy for those who has eye conditions (Beat version)