Kentucky Route Zero Acts I & II Review

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Kentucky Route Zero is unlike any game I have played before, and so it is pretty hard to explain in terms of genres we are used to. It is definitely a point-and-click game, but it has very few puzzles and it never uses the pre-rendered static backgrounds that have been common in the genre since the 90s. The visual style is simple, but it is a sight to behold. It is amazing what the artist was able to do with flat shapes; shadows and contrast are used heavily to give the scenes depth, and the game actually looks gorgeous in 3D as well.

Some of the scenes utilize angles very creatively to hide objects from you until you have done a bit of exploring. Of course this only works because the game has complete control of the camera the whole time.

The plot centers around a truck driver named Conway who works for an antique shop. He is trying to get to Dogwood Lane in order to make a delivery, but of course that turns out to be much more difficult than he originally anticipated. The gas station attendant that you meet at the beginning of the game tells Conway that he is going to have to take "the zero" and you spend the first act looking for Kentucky Route Zero.

Everyone who gives you directions is pretty cryptic, and the landmarks they navigate by border on the surreal. Once you're on the road, you have a lot of freedom and there are more odd places to visit that have nothing to do with the plot of the game, but they add to the atmosphere nicely.

I really liked the conversation system they use. You always get to choose what your character says, but I am pretty sure that the story line does not diverge based on that; the choices are purely to shape the character in your own mind.

The game sometimes switches the character that you are controlling. Most of the time you control Conway, but when they were introducing Shannon the scene played out from her perspective; Conway was simply marked as "Stranger." This gives the player the chance to decide what kind of person Shannon is before she joins the group.

If I have convinced you to buy the game, stop reading and go play it now. I'm going to start talking about Act II and I don't want to accidentally spoil anything.

At the end of Act I you find The Zero. There, I spoiled it. If you were hoping that finding The Zero was going to be Conway's big break, you'll be disappointed. The Zero is a strange circular highway underground with a very confusing navigational system. Depending on whether you are going clockwise or counterclockwise you will find different landmarks. If you turn around at a particular landmark, you will enter that landmark's layer and you will see different landmarks than before. It's easy to get lost, but don't worry- there is always a way out.

Act II continues the outside-the-box storytelling. In one scene the narration and conversations are being related through people who witnessed the scene to a museum staff who is trying to figure out what Conway and Shannon were up to. I found it refreshing and quite delightful.

Now seriously, if you are planning at all on playing this game stop reading now. I'm just going to straight-up tell you the craziest stuff that happens.

My favorite crazy moment was when I was trying to find a clerk who was supposedly on the fifth floor of an office building. I enter the elevator and see this:

"Third floor. (Bears)"

No, it couldn't possibly mean real bears. So I go to the third floor.

Oh. Bears. Bears that just sit there and watch me as I walk around.

And then there was the time when we all went riding around on a giant eagle to find a hidden forest far away from the highway system.

So that happened.

The forest scenes were absolutely gorgeous, and some of the images are downright mind boggling. Look carefully at the eagle and the car.

So yes, I would highly recommend this game to anyone who has been getting tired of the same old games over and over, anyone who enjoys the surreal or magical realism, anyone who is looking for something artsy. It is definitely worth the $25 it normally costs, and right now it is on sale on Steam. The first two acts are out now, and the other three will be releasing as they are finished.

As always check out all of my screenshots.

Dream: Paul Miller at E3

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This dream started out with some nonsense where my mother and I were driving around trying to find a mechanic to fix my car's lug nut problem (see Eight Bit #36). We found a guy who said that it was perfectly fine to drive it around as it was.

Suddenly we were at a convention that just so happened to be E3. I was having the time of my life, when suddenly I got a phone call (apparently I have a cell phone).

"Hello?"
"Hey Ian! How are you liking E3?"
"Uh, who is this?"
"It's your buddy +Paul Miller!"
"Oh, hi! Wait, how do you know I'm at E3? Are you here?"

I started scanning the crowd for him; somehow I knew that he was carrying a huge box. After seeing two other people with huge boxes I spotted him going around a corner.
"I have some free stuff for you if you can keep up with me," I heard him say on the phone. And the chase was on.
The rules (which of course I knew immediately) worked like this: Paul was running on a predetermined route, and he would pass by three stations. When he passed them, they would reveal several items that I could choose from. The longer it took me to get to the station, however, the worse the items available got. I was pretty far behind in the beginning, and by the time I got to the first station the only thing left was a laptop. I didn't even look twice at it. At the second station I found some headphones that I took for some reason (they were pretty terrible headphones). At the third station I had several choices that included several controllers and mice. I asked if any of them were wired controllers for my desktop, but the only one looked really uncomfortable to hold, so I took the mouse instead.

Paul and I went and hung out in what appeared to be a youth group lounge in the basement of some small-town church. +Sam Roth (a friend of mine in real life) was there as well, and we hung out and talked about whatever it is buddies talk about. Eventually Paul and Sam had to leave, and I sat there and looked around for a while. I realized that they had both left their bags behind. I took them both, opened the window, and left through it.

I woke up before I could find either of them. So Paul and Sam, my dream self has your stuff. Come claim it if you want it.

Google Music: All Access

Note: this blog has been migrated to Medium, with the articles here available to preserve permalinks Please see this post at https://medium.com/@ianrbuck/google-music-all-access-c763fda83a33

With Google I/O going on right now we've been hearing lots of exciting announcements from Google (we cover all of the important ones in a Nexus Special.) Most of the news wasn't too surprising, or it doesn't affect me. However, there was one really important announcement that I think might change my life: Google Music's All Access program.

Google Music has been around for a while, and up until now it has been a strictly "you have access to the music you uploaded or purchased from the Google Music store" business model. I love listening to music, and I have built up a modest collection of songs ripped from CDs my family owns and songs I bought from Google and Amazon.

In order to get your music from your computer into Google Music you have to download the Music Manager program. It can take music from iTunes, Windows Media Player (and you can choose specific playlists to upload), or from a specific folder.

Google Music is definitely the best way to get music onto an Android device; it is also pretty convenient that I can walk up to any computer with an internet connection, plug my headphones in, and listen to my music.

Now you might ask me at this point why I don't just use Pandora or Grooveshark or Spotify. The problem with those services is that they either have ads (which I absolutely despise) or you have a limited number of skips, or you aren't in complete control of the playlist you are listening to. I'm also pretty sure that they do not let you download MP3 versions of your songs. Google Music lets you download each song you own up to two times from the web interface, and you can download your entire music library any number of times through the Music Manager.

Enter the All Access program. It is a subscription-based service that costs $10 a month (but if you start a trial before July it will only be $8 a month, so you should get on that quick). The music player, your library, and playlists are all left intact, with the only difference being that every single song in the Google Music store is now available to be added to your library and playlists. For someone like me who still has tons of music that I intended to purchase but haven't had the spare change, this is a perfect service. This will cap the amount of money I spend on music to $8 a month (barring those few songs that do not get released on Google Music) and I now have the freedom to check out artists I would previously not have had the money to discover. And since the playlists and library work the same way, I still have complete control over what music I listen to, in what order. Google calls it "radio without rules."

They have also changed the UI of the Android app

The only downside that I can find is that even once a song is in my library there is no option to download it. Don't worry, you can still download the songs you uploaded or purchased before making the switch to All Access. It makes sense that you cannot download the songs you did not buy, but it sucks for things like Audiosurf or Beat Hazard which are both games that take an audio file and vary their gameplay according to the mood of the song.

So I started looking for a way around this limitation.

The best way I have found is actually through the Music Manager.

There is a Big Friendly Button there labeled "Download My Library". I used it when I built my desktop to get all of my songs at once. As I added my new free music to my library, I noticed that the number listed in the Music Manager was also going up. I have not actually tested it yet, but I think that my new songs will be downloaded along with the rest of my library. This is obviously not ideal, since I don't want to have to download everything every time I discover a new awesome album.
The alternative would be to play a song and record it in Audacity. Please note that I am not condoning piracy and there are easier ways to pirate music anyway.

So that is Google Music's All Access program! Definitely worth a try.

Dream: Gibberish

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A few weeks ago I had a weird dream, and I jotted down some notes so I would remember and write a blog post later. Now that I have time, I looked at what I had written down:

"Crappy road going to Dairy Queen.
Dairy Queen didn't have anything interesting.
Making cakes?
Suddenly in a canal, lots of people there with floating things like the big pink chair.
Sharks or something in the water, had to stay on top of floating things to avoid being eaten.
A bunch of people I know were there, including my dad."

I have absolutely no recollection of what my dream was about, so your guess is as good as mine. Apparently I am not very coherent in the first few minutes after I wake up.

Assassin's Creed III The Redemption Review

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I was pleasantly surprised by the quality of the finale of this little trilogy. It did a lot of things right that the first two missed out on. Right off the bat they started you off on the Aquila doing the most fun thing from Assassin's Creed III: naval battles. They even threw in a nice connection to Assassin's Creed IV, with Connor telling Faulkner a little about his grandfather. I kind of wish that the naval battle had lasted longer, but we have a plot to move along.

Speaking of plot, I liked it alot more than the first two DLCs. We finally get to see King George for an extended period of time, experience the direct effects he is having on the American people. Before now I had to trust that other characters were telling me the truth about how bad Washington was. Now I get to hear him make a stirring speech and see starving people in the streets.

You also get to explore the King's new pyramid, which gave the game a feel much more similar to Assassin's Creed II.

I really liked that door, in case you couldn't tell.

They also managed to find a way to make the little side-quests found throughout the city worthwhile. In order for there to be enough civil unrest in the city for the rebellion to succeed I had to do things like beat up heralds, assassinate officers, and break cannons.

As with the previous two entries in the trilogy, you get a new spirit animal power. This time it is the power of the bear, which allows you to smash the ground and deal tons of damage to those around you. Of course, it takes away a good chunk of your own health as well, so use wisely. They also got clever and created situations that could only be solved by combining the different spirit powers in order to progress.

Time for some pet peeves.
I didn't really think about it until now, but it was very lazy of them to just reverse the bluecoats/redcoats roles. Once they gained independence you'd think that the American Army would get nicer uniforms, and the people rebelling against King Washington wouldn't just have a bunch of British uniforms. In fact I can't think of a worse thing for them to war. But hey, the developers couldn't be bothered to make new character models.
There was a scene where Connor's voice sounded weird, as if the mic they were using to record the lines was having issues. Seriously, this is a AAA game, don't they have nice equipment?
Ubisoft's credits strike again! I spent a couple of hours actually playing the DLC, and then I sat through over 20 minutes of credits. Ridiculous.
They ended with a long cutscene that connected the story to the real world, and it looked worse than the in-game footage. Seriously, I think they made this in 480p or something.

This DLC is definitely worth its $8 price tag. If you haven't played the other two, that is fine, they have a nice cutscene at the beginning telling you what is going on (and honestly you didn't miss much.) I wish that the other two had been similarly priced, but oh well.

Iron Man 3 Review

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I think the movie industry intentionally releases awesome movies at the end of semesters. The Avengers, The Hobbit, and now Iron Man 3. I can already tell you that at the end of fall semester I'll be watching the second Hobbit movie.

The Iron Man series is my favorite of the Marvel heroes' individual series, and I am happy to say that Iron Man 3 is the best of them.
In my opinion the snappy dialogue is what sets Iron Man apart, and the first two movies suffered because the lines were kind of hard to understand, but the third one was crystal-clear. There was also the problem that none of the other characters could keep up with Tony Stark's snarkiness, but this time there was one. And the kicker was that he was just some kid that Stark ran into. It got so good that I started referring to the kid as "Stark's Muse."
There was a really good piece of meta-humor where they make a deprecating remark about theater actors that I found hilarious.
I was laughing so much during this movie that there were quite a few times that I was the only one in the theater laughing. Yeah, I was that guy.

As for action and explosions, there was plenty of that, but you can go see any old action movie for that. Speaking of which, all of the previews that I saw before the movie looked exactly the same, and I had to wonder what kind of culture we've created. Then I got over it and enjoyed the movie.

I don't want to talk about more because there are tons of things I could spoil.

Everyone should go see this movie as soon as they can, it is great!

Dreams: At a Fancy Restaurant

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This dream probably represents two things I know about myself: my ignorance when it comes to certain social situations, and the fact that I get hungry easily.

So the dream starts out with +Kaelyn Olson and I going to a fancy restaurant for a date. We take a look at the menu and of course I have no idea what any of this stuff is, so I'm just shooting in the dark. When the food arrives (which doesn't take nearly as long as it would in real life) I still have no idea what it is, so I ask the waiter how I'm supposed to eat it. I'm about as clueless as Cuzco.

I think we know who is wearing the pants in this relationship.

I notice that I'm getting some strange looks from the other diners, but I try to ignore them and enjoy myself. Kaelyn and I talk and eat for a while, and then I became aware of the fact that my shoulders and back were pretty cold. I look down and see that I am shirtless. No wonder I'm getting funny looks. I wake up briefly and pull the covers up around myself (I was actually cold in real life) and go back to sleep.

Now that I have my shirt back on everything seems to be going fine. After we finish we go to some awards ceremony that's going on. We show up late, and try to find some seats. Before we can however +Liv Klemek runs up to us yelling about how she just won an Oscar!

We were really excited about this.

Liv told us that there was a buffet downstairs, so we all rushed down and got in line. Apparently Oscar winners still have to wait their turn. I think my parents were there as well. I was just about to dig into my big plate of food when my roommate's alarm went off and woke me up.

Now if you'll excuse me I need to go eat breakfast.

Dreams: Unique New York

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I had at least three distinct dreams; one had to do with a big space battle, another had UAVs and social justice, but I remember the third one best. +Ryan Rampersad will enjoy it.

So +Sam Ebertz and I were in New York City, just kind of wandering around. We eventually ended up in this alley that slowly turned into more of a tunnel. We came across a chamber with junk and spare electronic parts scattered around. Kind of reminds me of the garbage city from the movie Labyrinth.

As we were looking around the room Paul Miller came in behind us and told us that he had been living in this underground area hiding from the world for almost a year. He didn't seem to mind that we had found, and he even let me take a few pictures of him and Sam posing together and moving boxes around (why I wanted pictures of them moving boxes I have no idea).

Something like this.

When he expressed concern that he didn't have a USB cord for the camera I reassured him that my laptop has a card reader. When I whipped out my Chromebook he pursed his lips but didn't say anything.

As Sam and I were leaving (Sam hadn't said a word throughout the whole dream) we passed a vaguely familiar-looking homeless guy with long black hair, but I didn't get a good look at his face. Wonder who that could have been.

And if you didn't understand most of that, don't worry; it had to do with a very specific set of inside jokes that my mind conjured up just for this one dream.

Dreams: Everybody is in My Room

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I tend to have rather odd dreams, and I love telling people about them. It had never occurred to me that I could post them on here as well. Plus this way if I start to forget details I can just come back and read it. I'll be writing up some of the best dreams I had in my childhood, but this one is from last night.

So I am in my dorm room, but the room is a bit different from real life; it is about twice as big as it should be (for those of you who know the layout of my dorm, imagine knocking out the wall between my room and Liv and Katie's room) and Declan (my roommate) had recently moved everything around. The beds were opposite each other, both lofted. My desk was still where it should have been, and the closets were up against the same wall the door is on.

It seems that my dream took place during finals week, because Declan was all packed up. Then my family showed up to help me pack my stuff, but I didn't want to pack all of my stuff yet. I have no idea how I got them to go away, but eventually they did. Then I went to bed.

When I woke up (still in the dream) I got out of my bed and immediately went over to my desk to check my tablet for messages. Then I turned around and realized there were two other people in my room with me. I did a comical "whoa!" and accidentally threw my tablet up in the air. Luckily I caught it. The two other people turned out to be Ashleigh and Tess, two girls who lived on my floor last year. They had apparently been waiting for me to wake up for quite a while, and they were busy eating doritos. I was mad at them for making a big mess on my floor, so I made them sweep it up.

I needed to change into my clothes, so apparently Ashleigh and Tess ceased to exist for a while. However, my room now had a couple of doors and they both had windows on them. And there were people outside who wouldn't stop looking into my room. At first this made me hesitate to change, but then I realized they were all guys so I mooned them.

After I changed a bunch of people were in my room, and they were all eating things and making a mess. I think they were all athletes. No matter what I did I couldn't get them to leave. I vaguely remember that I wanted to go and do something elsewhere, but I couldn't because there were a bunch of people in my room.

Then I woke up.

Assassin's Creed III The Betrayal Review

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Oddly boring title page.

The Betrayal is the second episode of three in Assassin Creed III's alternate timeline where Washington finds a Piece of Eden, gets corrupted, and declares himself King.

Unlike the main game, these episodes do very little to try to be open-world, which makes them much shorter, but they also stay much more focused. I appreciate that, but when there is nothing but story that story needs to be good. Don't get me wrong, the premise is interesting from an intellectual perspective, but I didn't really connect with any of the characters I was interacting with. I guess the fact that I know that none of this really happened (even within the historical fiction context of the original game) doesn't help me to care about them.

This blacksmith was the most interesting person I met, and I only had one conversation with him.

As with the first episode, you gain a new power that pretty much breaks the game. This time it is the power of the eagle, which allows you to fly short distances and assassinate people from afar. Unlike the first episode, there isn't really a mechanic that acts to counter your new power, so you are basically unstoppable.

There was a pretty cool boss battle against Washington where you have to figure out when to use your two powers in order to get around his defences.

Unfortunately the game is still pretty buggy, and for me it manifested itself by not triggering the final cutscene when I finished, so I had to go back and fight the last battle again.

If you are really interested in seeing what things would be like if Washington had seized power, you can pick this up for $10, but it isn't an essential buy by any means.

EDIT: you can now read my review of The Redemption DLC.