Space Engineers

Zach Goodier

*NOTE* This game is an early access title, so this review is not meant to judge the final game (obviously), but the current early-access version.

Space Engineers is a game available on Steam that puts players in the role of an astronaut.  You have no explicit goal or story, you simply mine resources from asteroids and use those resources to construct machines and equipment.  Obviously, this is a strongly Minecraft-inspired game, but it takes it a step further with improved graphics and the ability to create unique vehicles and functioning structures. 

"Space... The final frontier..."

So in terms of premise, just copy and paste from Minecraft.  However, there is a twist here that gives this title a chance at greatness.  Improved graphics do make this look nice, but there are other titles out there for that.  The big twists to note are the zero-gravity environments and the expanded construction options.

Detailed creations based on sci-fi are all over the Steam Workshop. I highly encourage you to check them out.

Zero-gravity seems a lame hook, at first, but it quickly defines the entire feel of the game.  If you create vehicles, you must create thrust not only forward, but backward, and the same goes for both up and down.  Inertia is a major factor in the game’s physics, and momentum has resulted in more deaths/destruction in my play-throughs than anything else.  Power is always in issue, as well, with reactors needing material, otherwise the lights all go out.  O2 is another issue, but once you create a medical station you can automatically refill on oxygen whenever you return to base. 

The UNSC has arrived to resupply our astronauts. 

The construction options are where this game really starts to take off, with the ability to create small, nimble craft, or massive dreadnaught-style ships, which can be for both fashion and function.  Massive automated drilling platforms, warships with functioning weapons systems, all of it is just a workshop visit away from your Steam library.

The ability to crash into things is both a pleasure and a cause for constant caution when navigating the asteroid fields.

However, all of this doesn’t give Space Engineers the same level of depth and charm that Minecraft carries.  Minecraft is a game of wonder and exploration, full of life and variety.  Space Engineers is almost the polar opposite, filled with the emptiness of space, as well as a lack of that wonder that filled the world of Minecraft.  It quickly becomes a void (go figure) which lacks the variety that Minecraft has.  You quickly realize that you inhabit a world simply made of asteroids, and various minerals that you need to build, with little sense of wonder to carry you beyond the horizon.

You can BUILD great things, but the environment itself provides little else aside from Ore X or Y, making the prospects of exciting exploration somewhat limited.

Long story short, go check this game out, but for $20, it’s no real competition for Minecraft, but that doesn’t mean it isn’t worth checking out.  The Steam workshop gives you access to a whole community of builders who can help you explore the wonder of what you can build in this game, things that look better and actually function, something that most Minecrafters can’t boast.  Still, the world (or lack thereof) does hold this title back from being considered an “improved” take on the Minecraft formula.  The world itself lacks much of the wonder that you might expect.  Instead of using its’ space setting to explore new worlds, moons, nebulae, and new, un-thought-of phenomena, this simply drops you into the asteroids to dodge rocks and try to work your way to those precious materials.  There are features such as meteor showers and potential factions in multiplayer, but overall, I’ll mostly be sticking to good old Minecraft when I feel like creating something.

Good:

-Solid graphics for a spiritual Minecraft copycat.

-Crafting allows functioning ships and stations, all customizable to your heart’s content.

-Zero gravity physics feel very realistic and offers both help and hindrance when playing.

Bad:

-Lacks the sense of wonder that keeps Minecraft players always crossing new horizons. 

Scully Rating: 7 out of 10

The Last of Us

By: Robert Murphy

Grab a box of tissues everyone because this one is going to be a game that tugs at your heart strings and the name of the game is “The Last of Us.” The game takes place in a post-apocalyptic wasteland, where people do what they can to get by and survive the world they are surrounded in, the game features two main characters an older man named Joel, who players control and Ellie, a young girl who is AI controlled. Now what begins to set The Last of Us apart from other "end of the world" style survival games is that the main core of the gameplay focuses on the relationship between Joel and Ellie and how they survive together. Joel who is gruff and surely man, who has survived this world and does whatever he can to do so, he does not rejoice in his pairing with Ellie and does not hide that, the relationship and struggles the two face however will soon change all that.

"I’m too old for this sh!t"

The game takes place in 2033 and Joel is trying to survive another day, doing what he does which is smuggling and trading goods with whoever will take them and this is where he and Ellie meet. In an early on mission Joel finds himself making a deal to transport Ellie in exchange for a large amount of money after a deal of his own initially doesn’t work out. The two must now travel across what remains of the U.S., a place that has been taken over by the elements and nature again and all that mankind had built has crumbled away. The two start out as well as you might expect with Joel being a sullen older man who would like to see the job over and done with as soon as possible and Ellie being a young girl who is the epitome of innocence, stuck in this situation that she most likely would not want to be in. There are levels of distrust and uncertainty between the two which is to be expected, given their situation, but the two gain a sort of dysfunctional father and daughter relationship though their travels where he teaches her what she needs to survive and shows her a world she’s never seen before. This comes up a lot as well since Ellie was born in this world she has no idea what things were like before the outbreak that turned people into ravaging creatures. Ellie will ask you questions about what the past was like and do other things like look through stores and marvel at nature and the creatures that are around.

You can already hear the conversation, “I hate you, I want to live with mom.”

Speaking of your surrounding “The Last of Us” comes with a beautifully designed world if you get the chance to look at it, but the beauty is often overshadowed by the fact that danger is around every corner. Combat itself is a tense and on edge experience as the ravenous creators that were once the human race attack as well as other survivors that are fighting to make it out in the wasteland and yours and Ellie’s fight for survival becomes a nerve racking experience for you as you are just a regular guy trying to survive this world. Now stealth is your friend in “The Last of Us” and you can obviously move stealthily and take down your enemies but the game also features a unique system where holding down R2 while crouching lets Joel listen carefully to his surroundings, giving him the location of enemies around him and helping him to avoid problems if you want to play that way. Some players may consider this a bit cheap, but I’d merely call it gamey. This doesn’t always come in handy though when you pick up partners along the way that want to go in guns blazing and start shooting anything that moves, this leaves you sitting there going “WHAT THE F$%K, MAN!” but I guess it can’t be avoided.

Nature taking back what’s her's

Now I feel I must take the time to tell you all about the infected creatures that you are facing in “The Last of Us,” these creatures came from mutated humans whose minds were infected by a fungus that corrupted their minds. The regular mass of these enemies are known as Runners, they charge at you without a second thought and aren’t afraid of anything you might throw at them, these creatures will take you down or die trying. These creatures however aren’t my main fear from the game, they aren’t anything I haven’t dealt with before, no the real problem I faced in the game came from the creatures known as Clickers. These are extremely mutated humans who have lost their sight and they make you never want to sleep again, least not without a night light and some covers close by to hide underneath. These creatures can only be killed with a silent shiv strikes or a gun but going in stealthily is the preferable choice of action since Clickers can kill you instantly once they get their hands on you and you don’t want that.

Holy frak!!!

Another enjoyable aspect to The Last of Us is the crafting element to the game, it is a vast wasteland out there and it is just begging to be explored and scavenged around in and who better to do it that you and Ellie. As you scavenge around for items you will find just about anything from booze, sugar and other miscellaneous items that can later be crafted into melee weapons or healing packs, whatever you might need or think you’ll need to help you in your travels. This however is a double edged sword as crafting is good but items you find in the world can only be used once and often times when you use an item, it’s hard to find another of the same item. So choosing to craft something or another thing or not craft at all and hold onto the item till later is always on your mind and makes you think twice before making something on a whim.

Finally, we come to the multiplayer aspect of the game which comes in two playable formats, one is known as Survivors and the other is called Supply Raid and both offer something for whatever your multi-playing preference is like. Survivors is a pretty straight forward concept where you are placed in a four on four match and you all use the same skills from the main game to kill the enemy team before they kill you. Then Supply Raid does something a little differently where the objective of the game mode is to slowly chip away at the enemy teams overall life total, which their whole team shares collectively, which makes you not want to be that guy dying all the time and acting without thinking first. Multiplayer also comes with a little something extra as well, your character like many other games is customizable but he or she is also a leader of a band of  survivors and as you progress and do well in online play your band of survivors starts to grow. The better you do, the more stuff you collect, the better and bigger your band of survivors will become, this making for an interesting little side project that makes the aspect of leveling up in multiplayer seem  worthwhile and not just for the trophies.

 Multiplayer characters

In conclusion, buy this game! Ha-ha, no, but I deeply enjoyed The Last of Us and all that it had to offer for me to experience and play through. The game brings you into a large and incredibly designed world with so much to see and do, all the while offering a great story that tugs at your heart strings from beginning to end. Joel and Ellie are great characters and make for a unique  video game pairing that games haven’t really done before and I completely loved it from the very first moment the two meet one another. This all coupled with great combat mechanics and enjoyable multiplayer, you won’t find yourself regretting the 60 dollars you pay to play The Last of Us.

Good:

-Excellent story

-Ellie and Joel’s unique and dysfunctional relationship is amazing to watch unfold

-Amazing world to be explored, coupled with stellar graphics

-It’s a survival game like no other

Bad:

-Nothing that I can complain about here folks

Scully Rating: 10 out of 10