Traverser Review
Let us for a moment consider the idea that, one day, the sun might poof out and that the surface air of the earth will vanish in the process. Let us suppose that the remnants of humanity will flee below the earth's surface, where the core remains surprisingly warm. Furthermore, let us imagine that humanity will embrace a vaguely steampunk aesthetic straight out of Dishonored in the process and that, even with all that's happened, some folks will find the time to express the desire that their home be painted in garish hues of red, green, and blue. Considering the circumstances, it's a pretty uplifting message, isn't it? That's the world that Traverser presents us, and it has all the ingredients of a scrappy adventure that can grab the hearts of millions in a way that the most blockbusters never could. It's such a shame, then, that this isometric 3D platformer and puzzler becomes such a stark reminder of the fact that good concepts amount to little if they don't have good gameplay to match.
It's a concept that works well in part because it's so surreal. At the heart of the world, so to speak, stands a city called Brimstone that floats suspended above a sea of lava and below a cavern roof studded with crystals, and the rich and the poor occupy the top and bottom sides, respectively, through a trick of gravity. Breathable air is the society's main commodity, and the poor denizens of the undercity must trot about in masks to stay alive. Lately, they're not so happy with the arrangement, and a rebellion is at hand when the action kicks off.
The story itself centers on young Valerie, who has to find out why her father has disappeared on the same day that she becomes a traverser, a type of secret police in the employ of the company that controls the air supply. She travels between the two cities by pounding on platforms at specific points. She earns tools and information from the populace, and she picks up more lore from scattered recordings in the style of BioShock. Her main tool? A gravity glove that lets her sling around crates and other objects with some precision. It's in this very concept, though, where the first signs of trouble show up. Valerie is told that she has to wear her normal clothes to blend in with the populace, but everyone already seems to know what she is, and many Brimstonians even have the audacity to ask her to perform tasks such as pickpocketing fellow citizens or flinging trash into the void. Whatever else the traversers do, they don't seem to inspire much fear.
However, despite the prevailing dark tone of the story, there's plenty of evidence that we're not meant to take all this too seriously and that it may even be aimed at children. The villains, for instance, have a Snidely Whiplash air about them that all but screams that we're supposed to boo and hiss when they amble on screen. Deep in the sewers, there's a diploma on which a mad scientist has scrawled his name as "Nicholas Cage." When simply hitting shift to sneak past guards isn't enough, Valerie can hop into a comically oversized barrel and hope her adversaries won't notice. Toss in some jaunty music and an exaggeratedly angular visual design, and it's easy to spot the influence of Tim Burton pervading the whole.
This isometric 3D platformer and puzzler becomes such a stark reminder of the fact that good concepts amount to little if they don't have good gameplay to match.
All of this would work in Traverser's favor if Valerie's gravity gun were more fun to use. She can use it to smack some enemies out of the way by slamming boxes on them, Magneto-style, but most of the time, she merely uses it to stack boxes to craft makeshift ladders or plop them on buttons or in front of lasers in the style of Portal.
That's all fine, but actually using the glove isn't. Grabbing an object and hoisting it up or down requires using both the left mouse button and the mouse's scroll wheel, which can be a bit of a feat when you have to direct the object you're holding with mouse movements as well. Adding to the awkwardness is Traverser's fixed camera, which often prevents you from accurately seeing how high or low an object you're holding is since the camera often ends up perfectly aligned with the beam. The crates and other objects often don't fall into place as easily as they probably should (which, again, might be the fault of the camera), leading to creations that tumble over just when you think you're almost done.
The puzzles themselves are usually simple, introductory affairs, although Traverser does manage to generate some excitement when Valerie has to use a number of techniques in quick succession. These moments are especially prevalent in the few boss fights and when Valerie has to switch between the top world and the bottom world to overcome obstacles. Never once, though, does Traverser present a challenge that's truly memorable or satisfying, and other aspects of its gameplay are complicated by the lack of a minimap or the occasional vague entry in Valerie's journal that leaves little clue as to what to do next. Traverser's at its best when it requires Valerie to use stealth, but even that's complicated by unwieldy objectives and guards who can apparently see through walls.
Still, there are worse ways to spend four hours, which is the amount of time you'll spend on a full playthrough, and the game's personality is generally strong enough to forgive some of its shortcomings. But it's a shadow of what it could be. Were it better able to traverse the gap between an attractive presentation and engaging gameplay, Traverser would be a game to remember.
Denis Leary’s Sex&Drugs&Rock&Roll is This Week’s TV Highlight
Not the craziest week in TV debuts, but a lot goes down this Thursday, as Syfy premieres a new late night lineup and FX debuts a new series from Denis Leary about an aging rock 'n' roll "never been" who sees a new young singer as his ticket to the limelight.
In Sex&Drugs&Rock&Roll, Leary plays Johnny Rock, lead singer of a legendary early '90s New York band called The Heathens. The Heathens were on the brink of becoming famous until they broke up the same day their first album dropped. 25 years later, the only thing bigger than Johnny’s ego is his prostate. That’s when a massively talented young singer named Gigi (Elizabeth Gillies) shows up - and pretty soon SHE’S the new lead singer while Johnny just becomes a behind-the-scenes songwriter. The race is on to see who gets famous first.
TMNT 2: Stephen Amell Teases a Different Casey Jones
Casey Jones will take up his regular arsenal of sports equipment in Ninja Turtles 2, but that doesn't mean he'll be the same jovial character we've seen before.
Speaking with IGN Live at Comic-Con -- you can see the full interview below -- actor Stephen Amell discussed his role as Casey Jones in the upcoming sequel to 2014's Ninja Turtles.
"It's certainly not your father's or your younger self's Casey Jones, but that's because we meet him at a very different time in his development," Amell said.
"He is not the Casey Jones that a lot of comic fans have come to know and love. He is a guy with a job that lives in New York and loves hockey. When things go awry,
when he goes through the normal methods of what someone would do when they're
Why Oculus is Helping Fund Rift-Exclusive Games
There's a very specific reason why Oculus is investing in its own Rift-exclusives.
Oculus VR founder Palmer Luckey recently explained in a Reddit AMA why the company was opting to fund exclusives, outlining the Oculus Rift as more of a platform than just a hardware peripheral.
"These exclusive titles, in many ways, essentially are first party titles," he wrote. "They are funded by us, we have our own staff working on them, and they are optimized around our launch timeline and tech stack. The only difference is that we chose to work with third parties to make them successful instead of competing with them through our own first party teams."
World of Warships: The Challenge of Being ‘The Son of a Genius’
It's clear he's hesitant to admit it, but Ivan Moroz knows that Worlds of Tanks' success was Wargaming.net's main adversary in the journey to launch the open beta for World of Warships. Moroz, director of World of Warships' global operations, initially believed it would be so simple – they'd just take the same formula and apply it to the other death machines of the world wars. "We thought we could just reproduce this, this, and this, and we'd have the next hit," he says.
But something happened during alpha testing just under two years ago. Players claimed they loved World of Warships, but after just 20 or 30 sessions they'd set it aside and never come back. It was a dangerous pattern that Moroz had already seen hints of after the official launch of World of Warplanes, and he and the team were determined not to let it happen again. As risky as it seemed, they'd have to "reinvent" their winning model. It was a hard decision on Wargaming's part, he says, but one he's glad the company agreed to.
Halo Franchise Reaches a New Sales Milestone
The Halo franchise has reached a new sales milestone on Xbox platforms.
On a schedule announcement for Comic-Con 2015, Microsoft confirmed the sci-fi shooter franchise had sold over 65 million units collectively throughout its lifetime across its three different Xbox consoles.
These sales are likely to have recently been bolstered by the success of Halo 4 and the release of Halo: The Master Chief Collection, and the franchise's popularity suggests this year's Halo 5: Guardians will raise them even higher when it releases on October 27, 2015 for the Xbox One. .
New Secret Wars & Justice League This Week
We all want the best of the best, so let us point out the hottest comics and collectibles released each week. We spotlight our favorite comics that we know are money-well-spent, new books that look cool, and any toys we can't wait to play with.
Check out our picks, then take to the comments to let us know what looks good to you!
Written by Robert Venditti & Drawn by Robert Gill & Doug Braithwaite | Valiant
Watch the New Suicide Squad Trailer!
After a crappy, fan-recorded version of it was (illegally) posted online, Warner Bros. has released the official version of the Suicide Squad sizzle reel that was shown at San Diego Comic-Con on Saturday.
Yes, you can now watch it in high-definition! Behold Margot Robbie's transfixing Harley Quinn, Jared Leto's frightening Joker, Viola Davis' badass Amanda Waller, Will Smith's Deadshot, Jai Courntey's Captain Boomerang and the rest of Task Force X in the video below!
The studio was none too happy about the leak. Here's a statement from Sue Kroll, President Worldwide Marketing and International Distribution, Warner Bros. Pictures:
“Warner Bros. Pictures and our anti-piracy team have worked tirelessly over the last 48 hours to contain the Suicide Squad footage that was pirated from Hall H on Saturday. We have been unable to achieve that goal. Today we will release the same footage that has been illegally circulating on the web, in the form it was created and high quality with which it was intended to be enjoyed. We regret this decision as it was our intention to keep the footage as a unique experience for the Comic Con crowd, but we cannot continue to allow the film to be represented by the poor quality of the pirated footage stolen from our presentation.”
Out This Week: July 13, 2015
With so many new games and movies coming out, it can be hard to keep up. Lucky for you, IGN is here to help with a weekly round-up of the biggest releases each and every week. Check out the latest releases for this week, and be sure to come back next Monday for a new update.
Note: The prices and deals compiled below are accurate at the time we published this story, but all are subject to change.
Wi-Fi Garbage Cans Deliver Free Internet to New York City
A waste management company is looking to put a positive spin on New York City's garbage problem by turning garbage and recycling bins into wi-fi hotspots.
BigBelly has manufactured solar-powered "smart" garbage cans that contain sensors to alert people when they're near full. Since the cans are self-sustainable, the company figured it'd make the bins even more useful than mere repositories by installing Wi-Fi units in them to provide free access to the internet all around the city.
Working with New York's Downtown Alliance, BigBelly has placed these units within many of the 170 smart bins installed around the city. Results have shown the bins are capable of a bandwidth of 50 to 75 megabits per second.