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GeekNights Tuesday - Towerfall

MrPeriodMrPeriod
in GeekNights

Tonight on GeekNights, we review (and disagree on) Towerfall. But first, the $85 Ghostbusters tabletop game is as bad as expected, though reviews are oddly kind to it despite the ugly truth as you scroll down, and Asmodee consolidates its North American operations, cutting low tier and undifferentiated online retailers out of the loop.

Don't forget to come see us live at PAX South!

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  • pencepence
    My favorite comment in that list just says: "Why?"
  • ColdguyColdguy
    I would like to suggest Duck Game to be added to your list.



    I predict if this is played Rym would like this more than Scott.
  • pencepence
    Re: post-cast stinger

  • Dazzle369Dazzle369
    edited December 2015
    https://gameofbombs.com Fake Bomberman MMO is still going

    ...Robin Hood + rap?

    Post edited by Dazzle369 on
  • MattMatt
    The addition of tabletop coverage to mainstream news and entertainment sites seemed like a great idea until we realized the coverage was stillborn. They literally just grab the one writer they already have on staff who has played a few board games and have him write the story, rather than picking up a qualified freelancer. The vomit trail of Ghostbusters reviews has actually made me want to start professionally reviewing games again. 5-6 years ago I wrote shitty reviews on occasion that fell in to those same traps of couching your language and putting a bow on things at the end. Mistakes would not be made the second time around.

    You guys have a pretty accurate read on the Asmodee situation. Folks I know in distribution tell me that the major online stores will have no problem splitting up into separate entities to retain both their brick-and-mortar and online ships. You were right when you described warehouses that have a storefront attached to them. CoolStuffInc in Florida literally has a computer terminal in their showroom where you can order from the website, and a guy will walk out from the warehouse door with your order.

    The big factor here is what price will the online guys get? Nobody knows yet, but I can guarantee that the industry was looking at guys like CoolStuff selling *brand new* product at 50% off, essentially wholesale pricing, as a major problem. You know who really saw it as a problem? Target. Walmart. Toys R Us. Barnes & Noble. Those companies invested in tabletop games because it looked like a sure thing on paper, but it hasn't quite been paying off. Nobody's talking about it, but I guarantee those retail buyers made the decree: "fix your shit, or we're out."

    Asmodee doesn't care if it loses a chunk of sales for its mid-tier titles if it sells double the amount of Ticket to Rides every year.
  • edifolco25edifolco25
    Alternative title to this episode: "Scott Really Wants To Play Some Bomberman" ;-)
  • AprecheApreche
    edifolco25 said:

    Alternative title to this episode: "Scott Really Wants To Play Some Bomberman" ;-)

  • DromaroDromaro
    That old lady got KRUNK!
  • CremlianCremlian
    Just played some Towerfall with 2 other people (one of them Pence) and it was pretty awesome!
  • MATATATMATATAT
    I don't think Charlie Hall really reviews things. He mostly just writes features. But also the article barely touches on anything about the game and he seems to not be too keen on it, then randomly says it has deep gameplay. But previously doesn't really say anything about the gameplay.
  • MattMatt
    Charlie is Polygon's designated "guy who plays board games." His title is features writer but they send him to Gen Con and stuff on the side to cover tabletop.

    I listened to a bit of Polygon's Force Awakens staff review before turning it off. Charlie called AT-ATs "at ats."
  • CremlianCremlian
    Also listening to your review of Towerfall, I think the resolution is way better on the PC version probably. Since we didn't have any issues seeing stuff on the PC on a 50 inch screen.
  • pencepence
    Yeah, I loved playing this game today. The 2D traversal feels just right - the way airdashes reset your momentum on the y-axis, and walljumps reset your airdash feels great. Plus you can dash/catch in any of the eight directions and it will temporarily negate the effects of gravity (including dashing straight down).

    On maps that let you fall indefinitely, you can also launch an arrow straight down so it cuts a line through the map until someone walks close to it, and then it will lock on to them. You can do it horizontally with laser arrows, too.

    Time to listen to why Rubin hates it I guess!
  • pencepence
    The reason you cannot tap jump to air dodge is that dodging is a different verb from jumping.

    Dodge moves you in space, but it also allows you to catch arrows. Dodge works the same way on the ground and in the air - you do not have to be airborne to use it.

    Jump in the air contextually means 'mount ledge' or 'wall jump' depending on where you are positioned in the level.

    We also had a mutator option that allowed for double jumps when playing at ScoJo's today. I wasn't a huge fan of it.
  • pencepence
    Actually, I didn't hear either of you mention it - did you mention that you can dodge through one or more airborne arrows? You can rush down an opponent if they shoot carelessly, and either stick their own arrow in them, or put your boots on their head for a kill.
  • theknoxinatortheknoxinator
    We used to play a ton of the original Towerfall on Ouya in my office and it was a blast. I agree with Scott in some respects because when I played the Ascension version some time later, it felt significantly more busy and hard to tell what was going on. I think it ended up being a case of adding more features actually tarnished the polish, since the original game was much smoother, IMO.
  • CremlianCremlian
    we played the game with no add-ons enabled expect a few games with only double jump. Is the issue that everyone always adds all the add-ons. That probably is the issue.
  • MattMatt
    I don't get the chat about there not being many of these games, four+-player competitive couch multiplayer. I remember walking around PAX South and seeing them all, thinking the genre bubble had burst.

    I'll just try to list good ones off the top of my head. I am sure there are more:

    PC:
    Towerfall
    Mount Your Friends
    Samurai Gunn
    Starwahl
    Paperbound
    Jackbox
    Super Slam Dunk Touchdown
    Sportsfriends

    Wii U exclusives:
    Runbow (NINE player)
    Sportsball
    Mario Kart
    Smash

    XBone exclusive s:
    #IDARB
  • MATATATMATATAT
    edited December 2015
    There's also a Smash Bros knockoff I played at PAX this year called Rivals of Aether. Also don't forget Gang Beasts.

    EDIT: Also Speedrunners which is currently on the front page of Steam. They played some of it on Unprofessional Fridays and it seemed okay.

    Personally I think a lot of these games kinda suck and don't really have much staying power. People wax lyrical about Towerfall and by the time I actually played it I was not interested at all after a couple rounds. My time with Samurai Gunn I felt better about, but its still a game that I just don't find a lot to keep going back to.
    Post edited by MATATAT on
  • AprecheApreche
    edited December 2015
    Even if all of those games you listed were good (they're not), that's a very very small number of games. There should be hundreds or thousands of options, not tens.
    Post edited by Apreche on
  • MechanicalMindMechanicalMind
    Also Wrecked (PS4) fast paced top down racer with Mario Kart like upgrades where you die if you fall off the screen. Also specifically Mario Kart Double Dash Battle Mode. All later battle modes I've played are atrocious pieces of garbage, plus its the only one with Bob-omb Blast.
  • IkatonoIkatono
    Single arrow is a really good mutator, especially if things feel too hectic otherwise. It gives you a huge disadvantage if you miss and makes collecting arrows from walls way more important. Plus it prevents the situation where two guys face each other and mash A and whoever has fewer arrows dies.
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