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2020 Awards

Avant-garde Award:

Disco Elysium is a fusion of table-top RPG mechanics and narrative driven murder mystery all wrapped in a dialogue bramble thicket (rather than trees).  Skill stats and traits are largely mental rather than physical and the setting has the vibe of 1970s America, but with a wholly alternate history and world.  Needless to say, it's a weird game that redefines what the genre can be.

Backlash Award:

Normally, I skip Electronics Arts sports games because they are low hanging fruit when it comes to this category.  That said, Madden NFL 21 has the lowest user score in Metacritic history with logos and labels left over from the previous year.  It also marks four years of this franchise with the same graphics and glitches, but somehow features have been removed.  Also, the loot box mechanics are such that the rewards don't roll over to the next entry.

Brutality Award:

To call SnowRunner a difficult game would be somewhat of a misrepresentation.  There is no "game over" screen, nor any true failed state.  Even so driving through mud, snow and floodwaters can be nearly Sisyphean tasks; a form of torture overcome only by planning, improvisation and a whole lot of patience.  You can't lose, but success can be so elusive at times it feels impossible. 

Canvas Award:

Hardspace: Shipbreaker is made by the same folks who worked on the Homeworld series.  There are lots of bright starships, painted in bold colors and patterns.  The origin of this futuristic look is from paintings by last century artists like Stewart Cowley and Chris Foss. I guess in that way, one could consider this game a feast for the eyes in terms of classic space sci-fi visuals.  

Ecology Award:

Another sports game by Electronic Arts...this time it's a soccer instead of football (that probably doesn't make much sense if you're outside of the USA...anyway...). FIFA 21 Legacy Edition for the Nintendo Switch is a copy/paste job of the 2016 engine just with a roster update.  IGN reviewed the game by simply (and deliberately) copying their review from last year which called it a "macro-transaction", just with a lower score.

"Engrish" Award:

As far as rogue-like shooters go, Gunfire Reborn is one of the better ones out there.  I'm not sure what the title of this game is trying to imply though...is there a lot of bullet recycling going on?  In-game text prompts like "cannot reload by hand, but reserve ammos auto-reload when you stop shooting" don't really clear the waters so to speak either.  Hopefully, the dev team made enough money to give the English localization a second pass.

Esoteric Award:

In this tower defense game gemstones are weapons.  They come in ten varieties, each with it's own upgrade path.  They can also be combined to create hybrids.  Add to this, enemy variety (both in terms of type and numbers) and battlefield topography.  The result is a bewildering labyrinth of strategies with many ways to reach victory in the center. 

Lemon Award:

Despite a long development cycle, Microsoft's latest addition to their Flight Simulator franchise has a few issues; houses in football fields, or on railroad tracks, plane-shaped buildings and most humors of all a narrow tower in Melbourne, Australia that (due to a data entry error) is thousands of feet tall.  Normally this sort of thing wouldn't be particularly noteworthy, but because the emphasis on realism such mistakes standout like a sore thumb. 

Testosterone Award:

I get the impression that a certain subset of bodybuilders really just want to be a big blob of muscle.  Well, in Carrion you get to be just that; eat, sleep and exercise by cutting a path of blood and carnage through passageways and rooms filled with metal machines.  It really is like experiencing a feverish nightmare of someone who's whole life revolves around going to the gym. 

Underdog Award:

The latest entry in the long running Bridge Constructor series teams up with the equally long running AMC mini-series "The Walking Dead" to create something new.  Unlike most cash-ins of popular films and television, this title actually has some interesting mechanics.  The closest thing I can think of to it is that classic puzzle game - Lemmings.  Sadly, I think of potential players have had their fill of both franchises.

Return to Space (Final)

The one lead players have at this point is a "Genetix" logo and stellar coordinates they found printed on one of the toxic waste containers discovered back at Klorox II.  This brings our team to what looks like the space station from "Silent Running."  For those who might not be familiar with the 1972 sci-fi film of that name just know that it's a huge greenhouse in space.

Roger tries to beam aboard the abandoned station to investigate further, but a transporter malfunction causes his head to be swapped with that of a fly.  Unlike the black-and-white classic horror movie "The Fly," Wilco's consciousness also transfers over to his much smaller insect body.  With some ingenuity and effort our hero is able to get in contact with Flo on the Eureka and have Cliffy beam over to set things right.  The whole misadventure actually serves as the impetus for curing the mutagenic infection.  The transporter can be jury-rigged to remove corrupted DNA.  Roger examines some old Genetix research logs, which basically read like something written by the Umbrella Corporation from Resident Evil, as well as financial accounting information that includes bribes made to Captain Quirk.  Wilco also manages to requisition two tanks of liquid hydrogen.  The Genetix research data confirms that extreme cold is an effective way to temporarily paralyze mutated lifeforms.  Roger gives the tanks to Cliffy who plans on making them into a non-lethal weapon.  The two of them then beam back to the Eureka to perform the transporter cure on Beatrice (credit to Spike for prompting the idea).  The operation is a success, but Beatrice is still exhausted and asks to be returned to the stasis pod in order to make a full recovery.  Our team has the tools to defeat the mutants and recover the Goliath.  

Using the cloaking device salvaged from WD-40's starship, the garbage scow is able to sneak up on Quirk's vessel undetected.  Roger then slips through the Goliath's shields via the Eureka's EVA pod and gains access to the relatively deserted engineering deck.  Here, he reattaches the ship's warp distributer cap before crawling and climbing through a maze of maintenance shafts all the way up to the bridge.  Wilco is able to deactivate the ship's shields, but his plan is quickly knocked sidewise when he is discovered by the mutated bridge crew (including Quirk).  All seems lost until WD-40 suddenly beams aboard and opens fire with twin cold rays mounted in her torso.  The freezing effect only momentary stuns the mutants so the two of them make a hasty retreat down to the transporter room.  Cliffy, having already beamed aboard here, has modified the transporter system to remove corrupted material from infected individuals.  The mutants, using the ship's internal sensors, converge on the transporter room in search of our hero.  Hiding behind a bulkhead, Roger is able to signal Cliffy to activate the transporter once all the mutants have piled into the room.  Assuming players time it right, the trick works.  All the Goliath's crew are cured...except for Quirk.

Because there was so much corrupted tissue, Cliffy was forced to beam it out as a big glob drifting nearby in space.  Quirk boards a shuttle and crashes directly into the mass of material, turning himself into a kind of sentient space blob...that promptly attaches itself to the Goliath's hull in an attempt to get inside.  Roger transports back to the Eureka and rushes to the bridge.  Acting quickly, he orders Droole to open fire on the creature.  The attack doesn't seem to do much harm, but it does get the blob's attention.  The Quirk-thing detaches from the Goliath and makes its way toward the Eureka.  Being a fragile garbage scow the situation looks pretty dire, but the Eureka does have an integrated system specifically designed to deal with loose trash - the RRS.

The surprised looking blob is quickly sucked up into the ship's refuse container.  Unfortunately, the system was never designed to hold such an unruly mass of sentient toxic waste.  The only option here is to activate the Eureka's self-destruct sequence.  Droole and Flo make a break for the transporter room and beam over to the Goliath.  Roger is fast on their heels, but first has to let Beatrice out of her sleeping chamber.  She spring out of the pod looking as lively as ever although there does seem to be some residual disorientation.  After she beams over to the Goliath, Roger grabs Spike out of his tube and steps onto the transporter pad...only to have it blow a fuse.  The junction box is in the adjoining hall, so our hero has to rush over there and swap out the dead plug for a fresh one.  On his way back to the transporter room, the hatch to refuse storage area bursts open and the Quirk-thing spills partially out across the deck.  With a heroic leap Wilco is able to jump over a grasping hand-like appendage protruding out of the blob, thus gaining access to the now functioning transporter.  Beaming aboard the Goliath, Roger orders Droole to take the helm and get the ship to safety.  The Goliath accelerates away just in the nick of time, as a massive blast destroys the Eureka and what remained of Captain Quirk.  Having saved the day Wilco orders Droole to set course for home while Beatrice gives him an affectionate peck on the cheek...

...and that's all for Space Quest V: The Next Mutation.  It's also the end of this series retrospective.  Technically, there is a sixth installment in the franchise, but it is so awful I can't bring myself to write about out.  As for the fifth one, I've seen fans and reviewers criticize it for being too much like Star Trek, but a group of intrepid adventurers galivanting through space is really only overused in television and movies; for video games it's actually a fairly uncommon sub-genre.  The Mass Effect series is the only recent IP that stands out as thematically similar in concept, and even then it is much more somber and action oriented than Space Quest.  As I said before it's my favorite in the franchise, not to mention the longest (demonstrated by the fact that it took me three blog posts to summarize rather than the usual two).  Truth be told though, the first through fifth were all great as far as games of this style go; a rare feat when it comes to long running video game franchises.  Because of that, I really wanted to do a proper revisit even if it ended up being very time consuming.  Anyway, I hope it was as enjoyable for you to read as it was for me to write. 

Return to Space (Part 10)

Having completed their first assignment, the crew of the Eureka decide to take a break at the only local establishment for such purposes - "The Space Bar" (no relation to that wide button at the bottom of every keyboard).  After beaming aboard this deep space watering hole, Droole, Flo and our hero settle down at the table and order some drinks.  Cliffy excuses himself and Captain Quirk inexplicably shows up to exchange petty insults with Roger until the situation escalates into a one-on-one duel of "Space Battleship"...it's basically the same as the classic Milton Bradley board game just with a more sci-fi aesthetic.  Win or lose, Wilco finds himself saddled with another problem.  Cliffy has gotten into a fight with another Space Bar patron and landed himself in the station's brig.  Now it's up to players to find a way to bust Cliffy out of jail.  In a bizarre coincidence, a rather sleazy looking salesman happened to give our hero a sample packet of "Space Monkeys" just a short while ago.  What are Space Monkeys?  Well...I'm not entirely sure, but I think they're a spoof on the real-life novelty children's toy called "Sea Monkeys."  Unlike the aquatic variant though, Space Monkeys come with an explicit label on the packet warning not to mix them with alcohol.  So, what happens next?  You guessed it!  The whole packet goes straight into a cocktail drink.  With disturbing speed, these strange little floating green creatures begin to infest the Space Bar.  An evacuation alarm goes off and this gives Wilco a chance to bust Cliffy out of the slammer (with a little help from Spike and his acidic secretions).  Meanwhile, the Space Monkeys continue to multiply at an exponential rate leading to over pressurization of the station's internal atmosphere and a catastrophic explosion.  Thankfully, everyone is able to evacuate in time.  You'd think an incident like this would lead to a board of inquiry, but the crew of the Eureka don't seem at all concerned.  In fact, they are overjoyed by their captain's handling of the situation.  What's more, there is a new addition to the crew; a science officer with the designation "WD-40" (yet another reference to household cleaning products).  She is a rebuilt version of the droid that Roger had defeated earlier in the game.  Luckily for our hero, Cliffy reduced her hostility settings before reactivating her.

From here on out Space Quest V takes on a more unsettling tone.  The crew of the Eureka find themselves drawn into a investigation of the "Sludge Bandits" and their unwholesome activities.  Players, by this point, will have probably figured out that Captain Quirk is a co-conspirator in their evil machinations, but lack any hard evidence.  On the planet "Klorox II" (even more cleaning product jokes!) Roger and Droole find out that the few colonists on this remote outpost were horribly mutated by exposure to a toxic substance dumped in canisters across the hills near the base.  All but one of the mutated residents boarded a shuttlecraft and were able to infiltrate the Goliath (possibly under the ruse that they were in need of aid).  Upon returning to the Eureka, Flo reports to Roger that they are receiving an emergency broadcast.  A distraught looking Captain Quirk appears on the display, but his message is cut a bit short when part of his jaw begins to pulse unnaturally.  It appears that the entire crew of the Goliath has been infected, including the ship's captain.  Rushing to provide whatever aid it can, the Eureka arrives in orbit around the giant fungal forest planet "Thrakus."  Our hero beams down to the planet surface to investigate the source of an automated distress beacon.  He finds an abandoned escape pod and is then promptly ambushed by Beatrice.  However, moments later the two of them are subsequently ambushed by mutated members of the Goliath's crew armed with super soakers.  Unlike traditional water guns though, these are filled with infectious slime.  Roger and Beatrice are able to beam back up to the Eureka, but not before Wilco's wife-to-be is hit by some of the goop.

Onboard the garbage scow Beatrice reveals that she stole the Goliath's warp distributer cap before fleeing the vessel.  Without this critical piece of machinery Quirk's ship is stuck in the local vicinity.  Exhausted from her ordeal and slowly succumbing to infection, our hero has no choice but to place Beatrice in cryostasis until a cure can be found.

Once Roger ha s made his way back to the bridge it becomes clear that they have been spotted by the lurking Goliath.  Raising the shields buys the crew of the Eureka a little time, but the garbage scow is hopelessly outmatched by the larger starship.  The only option is to take refuge in the planetary rings around Thrakus.  Here, the small size of the Eureka works to its advantage.  The Goliath is unable to pursue and slinks away like a disappointed predator.  Safe for the moment, Cliffy suits up and goes out on a spacewalk in order to repair some damaged systems.  Unfortunately, while returning to the ship's airlock he loses his perch and ends up drifting helplessly into the asteroid field.  It's up to the captain, and by extension the player, to make a rescue attempt using the Eureka's emergency EVA pod (basically a small self-contained spacecraft with a robotic claw arm and very limited range).

The mini-game that follows is pretty straight forward: pick up Cliffy and get back to the garbage scow.  If the player doesn't get a handle on the pods controls though, it can be very easy to wind up all turned around and out of fuel.  Assuming this happens, players are treated to a failure state cutscene involving a native of Thrakus pointing out a falling star to another of its kind.  Presumably, this is Roger's dead EVA pod burning up in the upper atmosphere.  Alternatively, if players are able to rescue Cliffy and return to the ship safely, then the garbage scow is free to roam the stars again.  The Goliath, on the other hand, is unable to go to warp although it is jamming all communications in the sector.  Oddly enough, why Captain Wilco can't simple order the Eureka back to base and report to StarCon directly is never really addressed.  Apparently, it is up to Roger, our hero, and his band of misfits to solve this problem on their own.              

Return to Space (Part 9)

Space Quest V: The Next Mutation is exactly what it claims to be in that it does feel and play like a mutation of the pervious games in the series.  Only one of The Two Guys from Andromeda was involved in the project and the storyline was written by yet another individual.  Despite (or perhaps because of) all these deviations from the established formula, Space Quest V has a more memorable and diverse cast of characters than any other entry in the entire franchise.

As the game begins, we find Roger Wilco in a captain's chair of all places giving orders during some kind of emergency situation.  As it quickly turns out, the whole thing is just an elaborate computer simulation.  Our hero is, in fact, just a cadet at the StarCon Space Academy.  Late to a final multiple-choice exam, Roger is ordered to clean the academy floor crest in the station's hub area as punishment after the test is concluded.  While operating a floor cleaner he has a chance encounter with Captain Quirk (chairman of the academy) and none-other-than Beatrice (Wilco's future wife-to-be as reveled at the end of Space Quest IV).  The two are on their way to a meeting so there is only a brief exchange.  Even so, Captain Quirk manages to embarrass himself by slipping on a wet spot.  Thanks to the magic of scene transitions (and eventually Roger doing a bit of snooping) players get to see what the meeting is all about.  Beatrice is a representative of the local government and has come to complain about illegal dumping of toxic waste on planets under her jurisdiction.  The officers of StarCon in attendance don't seem particularly concerned, but Captain Quirk offers to take her around the sector in his flagship - SCS Goliath.

Meanwhile, our hero's test results have been compiled and, due to a short circuit in the grading machine, he has received the highest marks in the history of the academy.  Because of this he has earned an immediate captain's commission.  As fate would have it though Roger's new command is garbage scow.  Being as small spaceship, the crew only consists of three individuals: Cliffy (the blue-collared mechanic), Droole (the pilot) and Flo (the coms specialist).  Cliffy is human, but Flo has green skin, although in all other ways gives the impression of being a middle-aged woman.  Droole has bright red skin and, while also humanoid in appearance, lacks any facial features other than a pair of eyes.  How he breaths, talks or eats is never explained.  However, later in the game it's possible to see him drinking from a glass by placing it on top of his head.  So, maybe he has a mouth somewhere on his parietal cranium...?

Generally speaking, the crew aren't very friendly toward Roger despite his best efforts to make a pleasant atmosphere.  Even so there is work to be done.  The team's first assignment is trash retrieval in orbit around three different worlds.  Here's where a new mechanic comes into play.  Gone are the useless taste and smell icons, and in their stead is a secondary speak icon differentiated from the regular one by an exclamation point in the text bubble.  This is the command function and it can be used to issue orders to the crew.  No sooner had Roger given the order to engage the FTL drive to their first destination than another ship is revealed to be in stealthy pursuit.  This is a callback to Space Quest III and the circumstances are nearly identical in almost every way.  The one notable exception being this time the stalking droid is decidedly feminine looking whereas the original had a masculine appearance.  Fans might have been disappointed to see this plot device being recycled, but in my case I actually played the fifth game before the third, so this seamed like a totally original idea to me at the time.  I should also take a moment to mention what the garbage scow is called...its designation is SCS Eureka, a starship that is the spitting image of the bottom part of an upright vacuum cleaner.  Even the ship's name is parodying a widely sold brand of such machines.  Just to make the joke completely obvious, the Eureka is even equipped with an RRS (or Refuse Recovery System) which it uses to pick up bags of orbital garbage with the word "Husky" printed on them...yet another parody...this time of "Hefty" brand trash bags.  

After successfully completing their first pick up, Cliffy notices some strange sounds coming from the refuse compartment.  Roger decides to check it out and is immediately pounced on by a molluscoid creature that vaguely resembles a facehugger from the film "Alien."  Contrary to what one might expect, Wilco is rather enamored by the little guy.  He decides to name him "Spike" and adopts him as the ship's mascot.  Unfortunately, Spike isn't house trained and has a bad habit of secreting highly corrosive acid.  Luckily, our hero is able to safely place him inside a glass tube filled with an antacid solution.  Crisis averted, the crew of the Eureka set course for their next pick up.  This one goes more smoothly than the last, but is still disrupted by an unknown transmission intercepted by Flo.  Roger and his crew don't really connect the dots in terms of the content, but thoughtful players will quickly realize that the message pertains to the illegal dumping that has been going on.  

Pushing on to their final objective, the Eureka arrives only to find out that there is no trash beacon.  On top of that the ship is suddenly struck by an energy weapon attack then promptly hailed by the female droid that players had seen earlier.  She, like her failed predecessor has come to collect Roger Wilco for unpaid debts.  Having no interest in his ship or crew, she instructs Roger to beam down to the planet for retrieval.  Caught dead-to-rights, Wilco has no real choice but to obey.  

What follows is a lot like that classic Star Trek episode in which Kirk (not Quirk) fights a Gorn at Vasquez Rocks.  The location (this time) is a bit more exotic, with caves behind waterfalls and a greater abundance of plant life.  Our hero, in typical fashion, is unarmed and (to make matters worse) is up against an opponent who is not only stronger and tougher than him, but also capable of flying (via a jetpack) and turning invisible (via person cloaking device)...oh and she can shoot lethal (although not terribly accurate) energy projectiles too.  In order to win this lopsided duel players must use Roger as bait in order to lure the droid into a cave.  Wilco can then pry loose a big bolder and send it rolling down the tunnel from an opening on the other side.  The effect is like a bowling ball hitting a pin.  Even so this only succeeds in knocking out the droid's ability to turn invisible.  The finisher is to have our hero hide in a hollowed out log that acts like a bridge between two rocky outcroppings.  After waiting a bit Wilco's pursuer will land at this junction point hoping to spot him, thus giving Roger the chance to stealthy stuff a piece of wild fruit into the air intake of the droid's jetpack.  In a bit of foreshadowing, the multiple-choice quiz back at the beginning of the game has stuffing a banana in the exhaust pipe as a possible answer to one of its questions.  I can't remember if it was the correct answer or not, but I do remember passing the test on my first try (without cheating).  I guess I was good StarCon cadet material back then...

As one might expect, the jetpack malfunctions spectacularly and the accompanying explosion reduces the droid to several non-functional pieces.  Cliffy then beams down to help Wilco salvage what's left.  The two them also manage to steal a large cloaking device from the droid's spaceship parked nearby before it self-destructs.