Interstellar Marines (Early Access)

Zach Goodier

(Note: This game was played a couple months ago, so some info might be dated)

Interstellar Marines is an early-access first-person shooter which has you play an aspiring soldier looking to sign on as a recruit for the first marines to serve in space. It all sounds super cool, but for the most part, it keeps things fairly domestic, at least at this point. You can play competitive multiplayer modes and co-op against robot programmed to patrol and kill players, but the weapons themselves are modern. There really isn't a story to speak of aside from that, which is disappointing, but it seems that the actual story is going to be included in the main game. 

Weapons are modern, not futuristic.

The mechanics and movement are a little clunky, but for early access, everything looks pretty solid all around. Models are all solid and the guns feel realistic and the environments, while still on the small side, are well made. 

Monsters like this are, as far as I know, part of recent updates, but I only did a free weekend a while back.

Overall, this game still feels early in the sense that isn't a whole lot to do, but it looks like the focus has been on getting the mechanics and modelling right, and offering some entertaining challenges through unique game modes. I find the levels to be fairly short, and the general feeling to be generic. If they could really work on making this game look and feel like something unique, there could be a real gem here. Perhaps in later updates, and with the inclusion of story mode, this game could be a fun title. Until then, I wouldn't recommend jumping in with high expectations. Like a lot of early access games, there is always potential, but it's too early to tell how the final product will look.

Good:

-Decent mechanics.

-Some interesting modes.

-Solid modelling.

Bad:

-Lack of story.

-Nothing unique or exciting to hook you at this point.

Scully Rating: 6.5 out of 10

Five Nights at Freddy's

By: Robert Murphy

Did you ever get the feeling that those animatronic creatures at your local fun land were watching you as you walked by or maybe it was just all in your head like your parents said. Well, in Five Nights at Freddy's the robots are in fact very much alive and they're looking to add you to their ranks. The game is set in a small room in the security office of Freddy's Pizza Emporium and you have come here in the hopes of earning a quick hundred and twenty dollar paycheck for each night of work you put in. But, there's always a catch to something being this good and in this case I would rather stay at the job I have now and never trade it for anything in the world. Freddy and his animal pals want to come and stuff you inside of your own human sized bear suit and join in their merry band so you can help them bring smiles to kids faces every day. Yeah, they omitted all that in the newspaper ad. 

The object of FNAF's is quite a simple one when it gets down to it, survive the night from 12AM to 6AM before the doors open and the new day begins. Obviously though there is quite a trick to it though as Freddy Fazbear, Bonnie, Chica and Foxy the pirate fox all come to life and wander the halls of the building and general terrify the living crap out of you. Your only line of defense is the automatic sliding doors, flickering light switch and the security monitors placed throughout the building. Other than that, you're just a simple man, panning your head back and forth waiting for that glorious time clock to tick over to 6AM and you see that paycheck come from the heavens. Power is the key to the whole thing, you start your nights with 100% battery life and it slowly widdles down to nothing the more you use the security monitors, lights and doors. Irregardless of your power saving usage though, the power will still go down do to the flickering light source placed in your security office and the always rotating fan, apparently out of reach for you to switch off. I vote using the power though because the alternative is to sit around waiting for your fuzzy buddies to scare the crap out of you and grab you, ending the night and your life. 

Despite the basic nature of the layout for FNAF's, the whole thing feels like an extremely devilish affair when combining the strategy that goes into planning out your battery usage and the paranoia that comes from hearing every little sound going off around you. This includes the pitter patter of footsteps coming down your hallways, the squawking sounds of Chica the chick and the general rustling that goes on as the four robots stumble about looking for you and looking for trouble. What is even worse than all this though is the false hope that the first few nights will give you, for the most part there isn't too much to fear on night 1 and night 2, if you keep your head on straight. You begin to think the whole thing is a cake walk and that's when you screw up, you forget something, maybe you forgot to check on Foxy in his pirate cove or didn't flash the lights long enough on Bonnie and then you're jumping out of your seat, screaming like a girl and needing a new pair of shorts. 

Each night as I said will get harder and harder, the animatronic gang will start moving as soon as the nights start and you never quite know just whats going to happen the next time around. The whole experience is a bit of a learning experience, in the words of Cleveland Brown "You do a little better each time" and as long as you keep your wits about you, you can make it through with a little pattern recognition. After awhile you start to see what each character is all about, what they like to do and what they will do before they make a move to come in and grab you out of your chair. This though does not make the experience any less terrifying when you think everything is going smoothly and then out of nowhere you're caught. Between that and the breathe taking moment of realization you get from not being able to close one of your automatic doors, Five Nights at Freddy's becomes a real scary affair. 

Overall, Five Nights at Freddy's is a great Indie game for anyone to pick up, whether you love scares or want to test your will power with your friends and see who can make it furthest. There isn't a lot going on in the game and there really doesn't need to be because the simplicity is what makes the game fun. The AI are not super calculating and they will follow stock paths and go through the same things but that does not make the experience any less terrifying because you just don't know when your number is up or whether or not you screwed the pooch in some way. That feeling of paranoia is probably the best feature that I can attribute to FNAF's, while you sit there in your tiny little room, you must wait and wait and wait wondering when and how they'll get you this time. 

Good:

- A paranoia and fear filled game experience

- A simple but fantastic set up as you sit patiently waiting for the nights to end

- Freddie and his crew are truly terrifying when they get up close and personal 


Bad:

- AI patterns will get figured out after awhile


Scully Rating: 8.9 out of 10  

BattleBlock Theater

By: Robert Murphy

It seems like I was the guy who had always heard about the game, BattleBlock Theater, a fun platformer that feature ridiculous characters, abilities and would have you laughing all the way through. For whatever reason I never bought the game but now I have and I'm kicking myself for not buying it a whole lot sooner. We enter this delightfully charming world as you and your friends set out on a ship destined for good times and happy sunshine filled thoughts when disaster strikes you and your crew. Now you're trapped on a strange island dominated by your new cat overlords who want you to go through various obstacle courses for their amusement. In order to save your friends you must survive the obscene challenges on every level then get on your ship and get as far away from the island as fast as that ship will sail.  

Seemingly ripped from the imagination of a child, BattleBlock Theater revolves around your tiny paper drawn character who can come in a variety of different appearances to suit your preference. Your tiny character as I said has now been kidnapped by a strange cat society who have been torturing all who come to their shores by making them compete in events of their own design. In each level you must strive to reach the exit placed somewhere in any given level but also making sure that when you get their you have obtained three gems to activate it. There are usually more than enough gems to do so as each level has at most seven of the shiny delights cleverly placed and hidden throughout the chaotic levels you'll be playing through. Besides the level, you also must face the challenge of the various creatures that add for more pandemonium for your poor unfortunate character such as robots that shoot homing missiles at you as well as weird raccoon/beaver/deer monsters that will swallow you whole and more. You however can fight back against these enemies with melee attacks and various gadgets and abilities that can be obtained by collecting balls of yarn hidden in levels and selling them to some of the kitty cat wardens in the games level selection area. 

Perhaps the thing that most people know most about BattleBlock Theater is the fact that you can play with your friends and effectively ruin said friendship in the process. I recently had the chance to play multiplayer with Dibble on the game and my rage level peaked to all new levels while we were playing. The game of course is meant for two players to work together and is quite enjoyable even if you decide to screw each other over time and time again. Levels cleverly add challenges that will be overcome by helping one another out by doing things like hurling your partner across a water way or getting one friend up to a high ledge and then aiding the other up with a friendly helping hand. Then of course you can have some fun by not aiding one another or using abilities on each other, I deeply enjoyed blowing Dibble up with grenades and setting him on fire with a fire ball, he for some reason didn't like it so much. BattleBlock also features some deliberately competitive multiplayer modes where you and your friends can fight against each other in different game modes like a capture the flag game type along with other modes for you and your friends.

Now as many of you may or may not know, I don't usually point out a games soundtrack or audio features but with BattleBlock it is something you cannot help but bring up. The game features an insanely catchy array of songs such as dub step beats and songs that literally will chant about the secret area you had found. The whole thing fits the feel and environments for what you are experiencing and to add to the fun of it all there is also narrations and audience interaction that goes along with what you're doing. A frankly hilarious narrator will talk and react to many of the things you experience throughout the game for things like when you burn alive or drown horribly in water. Alongside this an audience in the background, which I presume is the legion of cats who have enslaved you, will applaud at your success in levels and cheer you on as you play, it's nice to be appreciated. 

Finally, BattleBlock Theater also features it's own level editor for players to use which let's you create your own torturous maps for you and others to play on. The feature is very easy to use and will allow you to create levels in less than a few minutes so you can play them or share it with others to try out. All the blocks, creatures and features are at your disposal to use in your attempts to make your own evil levels to watch people suffer at and can get addictive if you get into it. You can also obviously put others creations to the test as well and see the variety of game types that people have come up with, which is a lot since the game is a few years old at this point.

In conclusion, I have no idea why it took me so long to pick up such an amazing game but I am so happy that I got my chance to play it now. BattleBlock Theater features an insanely addictive platforming experience with many unique ideas and levels the likes of which I haven't enjoyed this much since my old Mario days. The whole experience was a charming affair right down to the music that was playing in the background of each level that I played to the crazy narrator. It is a game that I truly have enjoyed playing and if you haven't played it like me, I suggest you get on it ASAP. 

Good:

- Crazily designed and fun levels

- Artistically charming

- The soundtrack is catchy and adds to the appeal of every level

- Great level editor feature

Bad:

- I can't say anything bad about my experience with the game, maybe don't buy it if you don't like the kiddy styling but that's all I've got

Scully Rating: 9.0 out of 10 

  

The World's End

By: Robert Murphy

It’s finally happened everybody, the next Simon Pegg and Nick Frost joy ride has come to the big screen and as you might expect, it doesn’t disappoint. The story revolves around a group of five former friends who have all banded together to conquer their towns greatest challenge which is the Golden Mile, twelve pubs, one night of epic adventure. Sounds like fun already right? Well it gets even better when things in the fives home town don’t appear to be adding up and it is revealed that their home town has been replaced by robots, well not robots, robot means slaves and they’re not slaves, no not at all. This being part of The World’s End frankly brilliant wit and humor that you receive throughout the film but not only is funny it has a great deal of heart and action (obviously) incorporated into it as well. So without further ado, let’s dig right into it.

Our five friends are all well-known actors and are exactly the perfect people to fill the older, stuffy versions of their younger selves that are shown in the film. We have Oliver or O man (Martin Freeman) who is the fuddy duddy kill joy of the group who has now become a real estate agent since the old days. Then we have Steven (Paddy Considine) who use to be our lead characters “rival” during their younger days as they play guitar and chased down girls across the school yard, one in particular being Oliver’s sister, Sam (Rosamund Pike.) And then there’s Peter (Eddie Marsan) who was the nerdy member of the five that was always bullied and teased throughout school and ultimately protect by his friends and finding his own place in it. Finally, we have Andrew (Nick Frost) who was best mates with Simon Pegg’s character but had a falling out near the end of high school when they all went their separate ways. And that’s everyone…..OH wait how could I forget about The King which is Simon Pegg’s character, Gary King, who will often refer to himself as The King and act as though he is God among men. This might have been the case when he was younger but now things have changed, very drastically but Gary hasn’t and is that one guy who never left high school but takes it to a whole other level. He is the one who manages to get the group back together for this last blowout and to finish what they couldn’t all those years ago.

From here our story of a night to remember begins but this feeling is only shown by Gary who is, as I said, stuck in the past where he was The King, girls loved him, he could drink and smoke his days away with his mates and nothing could ever stop him. But life it seems has stopped him and the first scene that we see Gary in, he is in a drug rehabilitation center, describing the old days as if they were yesterday. This is where we get a sense of soul and heart to the film and even though Gary’s selfish reasons brought the band back together much more comes from it. This and other touching moments from the groups past somehow go along rather seamlessly with the out of this world sci-fi elements of the film. The premise behind the other worldly beings that have taken over our friends home town is rather inventive and ties into the concerns and whoas of our group as well as every human being. They also are a part of the movies brilliantly planned out and choreographed fight scenes, where every hit leads to ricochet of events in the scene and brings the whole environment into the action.  Then they all proceed to have a pint and share more of their history together….sounds ridiculous when I say it but it works, trust me.

Not much else to say about The World’s End except that it is bloody brilliant, I’ve been a big fan of Edgar Wright’s films such as Shaun of the Dead and Hot Fuzz, where Simon Pegg and Nick Frost join forces for epic conquest against zombies or a town of homicidal murderers. The World’s End was one of the few movies that I did not feel robbed me of twelve dollars and gave me a never ending amount of laughs along with everybody else in the theatre. The film pulls no punches with its quick wit and intelligent humor (and not so intelligent), it’s not afraid to jab itself or its characters and struts its stuff with a joyous swagger. And it’s not just Simon Pegg and Nick Frost who are the stars of the show, no all the actors and actresses are on top of their game and makes me hope to God that the five actually do meet up for a pint every now and again.

Good:

-A great cast of characters who bring a spot on performance

-A movie with action, laughs and a soul to it as well

-Brilliantly choreographed fight scenes

-Excellently written and a good edition alongside Hot Fuzz and Shaun of the Dead

Bad:

-Hmm I uhh, yeah I’ve got nothing, I loved it all

Scully Rating: 9.5 out of 10 

In the news: Animes to look into

By: Robert Murphy

Link to Attack on Titan here

Link to Gargantia on the Verdurous Planet here

So recently some new animes have come out and caught my attention and as a Scully Nerd Reviews writer I felt it was rude of me not to tell you all about these fine new additions to a world we all love so much, these two new shows are “Attack on Titan” and “Gargantia on the Verdurous Planet.” Both shows have started fairly recently and we’re only a few episodes in but so far I have to say I am deeply enjoying what both have brought to the table.

Let’s start with “Attack on Titan,” the show tells the story of how for years humanity has fought against the monstrous and human like creatures known as Titans that plagued the land. Humanity could do nothing to stop these beings and retreated behind giant walls to protect them from being devoured and while humanity still tries to strike back against the Titans, they have no success against them. I would like to take a minute also to explain just how humanity is trying to fight against the Titans because frankly it’s awesome, being that these creatures are monolithic in size humanity needs a way to strike hard, high and fast against them and they find the perfect way. Using a gas propelled zip line machines humanity soars through the air, provided there is something to grapple onto that is, moving swiftly as the machines allow fighters to get high up as they try to take down Titans. The setting for the show focuses on our protagonist Eren Yeager as he and his family lives in peace behind Wall Maria and all seems well until he witnesses a Titan like no other towers over the wall and destroys it, this sets the pace for our story as everything Eren knows is taken from him, he makes a vow to kill every last Titan no matter what it takes. The story so far has completely grabbed my attention since the first episode and features something unlike what I’ve seen from the anime world thus far with giant lumbering creatures, a unique story, exciting combat and amazing animation there is a lot to love about “Attack on Titan” and it’s only just started.

Moving onto “Gargantia on the Verdurous Planet” a story that takes a long step away from “Attack on Titan,” we follow along with Ledo who is a solider for the Galactic Alliance of Humankind and is fighting the battle against the plant-like alien species known as the Hideauze. And while the initial battle isn’t over the top as robot mechs fight it out against the Hideauze, we lead into the hook of the show as Ledo is separated from his squad and ends up stranded on an unknown planet. Coming out of unconsciousness six months later Ledo is surrounded by the inhabitants of the planet who do not speak his language and are trying to break into his mech. And despite their best efforts, which were essentially pounding on the side of it, they couldn’t open it and finally give in and when they do Ledo tries to escape. However as he escapes and explores the planet he realizes that he is on Earth which hasn’t been seen by anyone in years and the shear site of it is awe inspiring for him and we watch as it all unfolds.

Now, do my bidding and go to the links above to watch these awesome shows, haha just kidding but seriously the shows are very enjoyable and I hope you all take the opportunity to watch the shows and watch to see what happens for Eren and Ledo.