Third person cover based shooters were all the rage in the late 2000s. Unveiled in 2003 in Killswitch and later popularised with Gears of War, they became an essential part of most third person action games. Coming in 2010, Vanquish sought to revolutionise this paradigm by giving the player an omnidirectional slide boost to move around the battlefield in an attempt to energise its plodding pacing.

And, broadly speaking, it was a resounding success. People loved the faster pace, the bullet time, the enemy design and the more action orientated dodging of enemies. And even though it didn’t sell as well as many other similar games, it developed a huge cult following of people who are still wildly holding on for a sequel to this day.

But is Vanquish still as refreshing and innovative as it was back in 2010? Are bullet time and moving around quickly really all that impressive. Can this fast and furious take on third person shooters truly break out of the straitjacket that the genre insists upon?

On this episode, we discuss:

Weapons

• Vanquish provides you a wide range of weapons to murder robots, from the more conventional shotguns and sniper rifles to grav cannons and lock on lasers. How fun are these to use, and how well does the weapon upgrade system work in balancing your arsenal?

Enemy Design

• Vanquish enemies are mostly robots of different varieties. Do these serve as compelling foes, from the lowliest grunt to the huge mech-like Argus? Or are they boring to fight against, an endless wave of repetitive drones?

Cover

• Vanquish is, at its heart, a third person shooter. Does it do enough to incentivise you to play into the throbbing heart of intense action and brinkmanship, or do you end up ducking behind cover and taking potshots at enemies as you slowly whittle them away?

We answer these questions and many more on the 130th episode of the Retro Spectives Podcast!

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Intro Music: KieLoBot - Tanzen K

Outro Music: Rockit Maxx - One point to another

Vanquish OST: Erina Niwa, Masafumi Takada

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How aggressively did you play Vanquish? What is god hard mode, and does it drastically change the experience? How would you rank Vanquish compared to other Platinum Games titles? Come let us know what you think on our community discord server!

You can support us monetarily on our Buy me a Coffee page

Video games usually place you in the role of the plucky adventurer. You are the wizard, the warrior, or the rogue, and it's your duty (and often destiny) to save the world. On your journey, one of the most important things to do is to acquire more powerful gear to make your character stronger. But who exactly are you buying that gear from?

Enter: Recettear. First released in 2007 (and later 2010 in a global english localisation), Reccetear places you in the role of an 8 year old girl tasked with running an adventurer’s item shop in order to pay back a very suspicious loan. You hire adventurers to go on dungeon runs, and you strive to buy low and sell high in an attempt to pay back ever increasing debts.

On release this concept was entirely novel, and that novelty turned it into a smash success. But how does this game really work under the hood? Is Reccetear only a good game thanks to its charming presentation and unique concept, or is this actually an enjoyable and engaging video game?

On this episode, we discuss:

Shopkeeping

Recettear’s item stocking and selling revolves around multiple mechanics, some of which are very deviously hidden from the player. Combo selling chains and customer loyalty has to be balanced against extracting the maximum possible profit from your customers. How well explained are these mechanics? Are they balanced? Does the balancing act become too much to handle as the game progresses?

Dungeoneering

Ask anyone - the dungeon arpg gameplay in Recettear is almost universally despised. No review is complete without bemoaning this part of the experience. But are they really that bad? We dive deep and explore what doesn’t work about these dungeons, and more surprisingly, what does.

Presentation

Reccetear’s presentation is simple. Items get snapped onto predetermined locations, selling items is a series of fast menus popping off in succession, and moving around town is as simple as selecting a location. Does this simplicity of UI navigation lead to a crisp and clean experience, or is it ultimately too restrictive and limiting for the player?

We answer these questions and many more on the 129th episode of the Retro Spectives Podcast!

Intro Music: KieLoBot - Tanzen K

Outro Music: Rockit Maxx - One point to another

Reccetear OST: sarumotto, Araibear, ni_ya, m_box

Are the mechanics behind Reccetear really as exploitable as we described? Are the dungeons worse than we thought? What other games in the shopkeeper genre would you recommend? Come let us know what you think on our community discord server!

If you’d like to support the show, please check out our Buy Me a Coffee page!

In 1998 Bioware changed the gaming landscape with Baldur’s Gate, a Dungeons and Dragons inspired adventure. Taking cues from second edition D&D and the many stories written about it, Bioware wrote a low level adventure that jammed everything they could find inside it. They attempted to copy mage spells directly from the manual, and even added in famous characters like Drizzt.

It was exactly what the fans had been waiting for. Not only were they able to see everything come to life, the game used the radical real time with pause system, allowing combat to flow far more freely than other turn- based games before it. Fights were fast and frequently deadly, adding a thrill to RPG combat, even if it came at the cost of precision and control.

But CRPGs are now a dime a dozen. Not only are there later games in the series, Baldur’s Gate now has to compete against Pathfinder, Warhammer and Divinity, to name a few. With all the advancements in tech, in UIs, in skill systems, can the original Baldur’s Gate really compete? Has it stood the test of time, or has it been made obsolete by the wave of modern RPGS that came in its wake?

On this episode, we discuss:

Exploration

• Much of the early-mid game of Baldur’s Gate 1 is spent exploring the environment around the towns and keeps that are dotted around the Sword’s Coast. Is this exploration enjoyable to engage with intrinsically, and does it provide enough extrinsic rewards to motivate you to continue?

Combat

• Baldur’s Gate’s combat is scrappy, disorganised and messy. There is a high level of vulnerability on both sides, spells have unclear areas of effect, and high rolls can produce instant-death in many circumstances. Does this combat system lead to dynamic and novel encounters that allow for tactical depth, or does it just encourage reloading until you get the outcome that you want?

Character Customisation

• Baldur’s Gate is a very complex game under the hood, but those calculations, and level up decisions are mostly hidden from the player. Does the game give sufficient options to the player to customise their character with skill choices and gear, or is it all predetermined the moment you first select your character?
  

We answer these questions and many more on the 128th episode of the Retro Spectives Podcast?

Intro Music: KieLoBot - Tanzen K

Outro Music: Rockit Maxx - One point to another

Baldurs Gate OST - Michael Hoenig

Are you meant to eventually multiclass everyone to a mage in DND? Is Sanctuary really as overpowered as it seems? When will you play Baldur’s Gate 2, you pair of sniveling cowards? Come let us know what you think on our community discord server!

You can support the show monetarily on our Buy me a Coffee Page!