Excellent Space Giraffe review

[Atari5200]

what are you talking about? It's basically the same principle, even some of the same voices and phrases are used in this game as are in Tempest 2k.

[moycon]

what are you talking about? It's basically the same principle, even some of the same voices and phrases are used in this game as are in Tempest 2k.

 

Mooo's?

[Atari5200]

i heard "super zapper recharge", i heard the "yes, yes, yes, yes, yes" that happens when you do something really good.

 

edit: and i will admit my hearing is not the best, but that's what I heard. like I said, this game feels like a sequel than an original game.

Edited August 29, 2007 by Atari5200

[Flojomojo]

say what you want, this game basically is Tempest with a twist in my opinion, it's not a totally different game. It follows basically the same logic that sequels follow, try to improve the game but keeping the core the same.

You don't know what you are talking about if you think this is Tempest with a twist. It is like calling Galaga Space Invaders with a twist.

Lastblade is correct. Yes, there are webs and enemies in a tube for you to shoot. The goals are completely different, however. If you play Space Giraffe by just shooting to survive, and moving up levels (as in Tempest), you will fail and it won't be much fun at all. The tutorial and Achievements are pitched to make this fairly clear. SG is more like pinball -- you need to show some skill to get the multiplier up by performing the high-paying tasks.

 

This isn't a new concept. Asteroids, Pac-Man, Gravitar, Geometry Wars, Burnout, Crystal Quest, and Galaga are constructed in similar ways to reward risky behavior. The more you risk (and survive), the more you get back.

 

Lastblade's analogy is a good one: Space Invaders and Tempest don't have this level of complexity. Tempest 2000, Galaga, and Space Giraffe do -- and in Space Giraffe, it's possible to get crazy huge scores on the very early levels by maximizing the bull attack.

 

what are you talking about? It's basically the same principle, even some of the same voices and phrases are used in this game as are in Tempest 2k.

 

And watching a TV show on a big HDTV is basically the same principle as watching I Love Lucy on a 1950's 5-inch black and white tube.

 

i heard "super zapper recharge", i heard the "yes, yes, yes, yes, yes" that happens when you do something really good.

Following this logic, Asteroids has spaceships and lasers, and it also lets you enter your initials at the end of a high-scoring game. Therefore it's the same thing as Geometry Wars!

 

I think it's a shame that people are bagging on this game just because they don't (can't?) understand it. I don't go into forums bagging on Madden just because I don't like football games, so why does SG get this response?

[Hyper_Eye]

how am i to bounce back bullets when i can't see them and i'm playing on a 42" lcd. I hate to see how this game looks on anything smaller.

 

I play on a 720 pj at 80" and I still can't see.

 

Following this logic, Asteroids has spaceships and lasers, and it also lets you enter your initials at the end of a high-scoring game. Therefore it's the same thing as Geometry Wars!

 

Except that he is pointing things a little more detailed then that isn't he? Your analogy is crap. The game uses phrases that were taken from T2K. That is a little different then a laser or a scoreboard which could be considered necessities in certain genres of game. Here is a better analogy. Say that you were playing a fighting game and at the beginning of a round it said "Fight!" and then, at the end of the round when you hear "Finish Him!", you punched in a quick combo of buttons and ripped someones head off which was followed by "Fatality!". Finally you hear "Sub Zero Wins!". What game are you playing?

[Flojomojo]

how am i to bounce back bullets when i can't see them and i'm playing on a 42" lcd. I hate to see how this game looks on anything smaller.

 

I play on a 720 pj at 80" and I still can't see.

 

Following this logic, Asteroids has spaceships and lasers, and it also lets you enter your initials at the end of a high-scoring game. Therefore it's the same thing as Geometry Wars!

 

Except that he is pointing things a little more detailed then that isn't he? Your analogy is crap. The game uses phrases that were taken from T2K. That is a little different then a laser or a scoreboard which could be considered necessities in certain genres of game. Here is a better analogy. Say that you were playing a fighting game and at the beginning of a round it said "Fight!" and then, at the end of the round when you hear "Finish Him!", you punched in a quick combo of buttons and ripped someones head off which was followed by "Fatality!". Finally you hear "Sub Zero Wins!". What game are you playing?

I dunno, Ultra Vortek or some other fighting game that I don't play and therefore unqualified to criticize? (much like the visually impaired folks playing Space Giraffe?)

[rxd]

Let me get this straight. So the fact that Space Giraffe has sounds similar to the sounds in Tempest 2000 that are not in the original Tempest makes the game just like the original Tempest?

[Atari5200]

Let me get this straight. So the fact that Space Giraffe has sounds similar to the sounds in Tempest 2000 that are not in the original Tempest makes the game just like the original Tempest?

 

ok? and it doesn't have sounds similar, it has the same sounds as Tempest 2k.

[ubersaurus]

Let me get this straight. So the fact that Space Giraffe has sounds similar to the sounds in Tempest 2000 that are not in the original Tempest makes the game just like the original Tempest?

 

ok? and it doesn't have sounds similar, it has the same sounds as Tempest 2k.

 

The Superzapper Recharge clip and the "Yes" clip are completely different from the ones used in T2k. The only similarity is it's the same thing being said.

 

The actual classic sound effects are apparently from the C64, according to the game credits.

 

Also I've had no problem picking out bullets. It's a matter of being able to focus on the web, which I guess not everyone can do?

 

And honestly, the only similarity between this and tempest is that you're on a web and you can shoot things. Doesn't mean they have the same goals, or scoring mechanisms.That's like saying Doom is the same thing as Goldeneye.

[Hyper_Eye]

I dunno, Ultra Vortek or some other fighting game that I don't play and therefore unqualified to criticize? (much like the visually impaired folks playing Space Giraffe?)

 

I am not qualified to criticize SG? I have been playing T2K for years and have been following the development of SG for quite some time. I didn't just play the demo once or twice. I restarted over and over for a period of a few hours to see if I could get accustomed to it. The game play is fantastic. Bulling enemies off the web is an absolute blast. But, it was simply hard to see. It's the cheap deaths that get annoying. And the feeling that I was playing Tempest on crack was always there. In the end I went back to T2K and I felt like I was playing the same game in a better form. I wanted this game to be good. I really did. But the VLM ruins the game. You guys can get defensive and make ridiculous arguments but that doesn't change the fact that there are many many people saying the exact same thing. What do I have to do to become qualified to criticize the game exactly?

[Lord Thag]

I am not qualified to criticize SG? I have been playing T2K for years and have been following the development of SG for quite some time. I didn't just play the demo once or twice. I restarted over and over for a period of a few hours to see if I could get accustomed to it. The game play is fantastic. Bulling enemies off the web is an absolute blast. But, it was simply hard to see. It's the cheap deaths that get annoying. And the feeling that I was playing Tempest on crack was always there. In the end I went back to T2K and I felt like I was playing the same game in a better form. I wanted this game to be good. I really did. But the VLM ruins the game. You guys can get defensive and make ridiculous arguments but that doesn't change the fact that there are many many people saying the exact same thing. What do I have to do to become qualified to criticize the game exactly?

 

I don't think anyone is questioning your qualifications, man. This is just the kind of game that, by it's very nature, you either love or hate. The fact that you've only played the demo (however extensively) is, I think, part of the problem. It's a poor demo because it doesn't really showcase the game much. The first few levels are similar to T2k, but the game very definately evolves into something quite different. It's very much like saying Galaga is just re-vamped space invaders. SG is an EVOLUTION of T2K, not a clone.

 

As to the 'cheap deaths' and VLM, that's the point. You have to learn to use your other senses to play well. Once you do, it's really very fun. In other words, like the arcade games of old, it's damned hard, and demands you work at learning how to play it. We gamers are not used to that much anymore.

 

I've never questioned that this is the kind of game a lot of people will not like. Hell, even Minter said that. However, without playing well into the full game, you are getting a somewhat limited view of the game as a whole, and I think that's why everyone is disagreeing with you here. If you played the first few levels of T2K ONLY, you'd think it was just Tempest with prettier graphics. Get well into the game and it's a whole new deal. Same goes for Space Giraffe.

 

Hell, it's $5. Buy it and play halfway through and see what you think.

 

Just my two cents.

[Lastblade]

I am not qualified to criticize SG? I have been playing T2K for years and have been following the development of SG for quite some time. I didn't just play the demo once or twice. I restarted over and over for a period of a few hours to see if I could get accustomed to it. The game play is fantastic. Bulling enemies off the web is an absolute blast. But, it was simply hard to see. It's the cheap deaths that get annoying. And the feeling that I was playing Tempest on crack was always there. In the end I went back to T2K and I felt like I was playing the same game in a better form. I wanted this game to be good. I really did. But the VLM ruins the game. You guys can get defensive and make ridiculous arguments but that doesn't change the fact that there are many many people saying the exact same thing. What do I have to do to become qualified to criticize the game exactly?

 

If you have only played the demo, you are still missing 90% of the game. There are alot more strategies in the later levels, different enemies, some very cool webs, etc. The game can be played a number of ways, this is where I find the depth of SG alot deeper than T2K.

 

However, the problem of not being able to see do gets worse in many of the later levels, so your criticism will remain. You can remedy this in several different ways, listen to audio cues, and focus on the 3/4 lanes you are on and don't bull run all over the place, or save up jump pods so you can bail (this probably reminds me the most, or bulk, of T2K gameplay).

[Gabriel]

The game play is fantastic. Bulling enemies off the web is an absolute blast. But, it was simply hard to see. It's the cheap deaths that get annoying.

 

OK, you played it and you didn't like it. But you don't think it deserves a 2.0 out of 10 from a publication which rates everything else at least a 7 out of 10. I think we're all more or less in agreement on that point. If I'm wrong, correct me.

 

I think everyone is just ranting a bit because our illustrious shills in the gaming press started bashing this one out of the gate without even the slightest effort to play it. You gave it a chance. You didn't think it was all that and a bag of chips. But you gave it a fair shake.

[rxd]

The game play is fantastic. Bulling enemies off the web is an absolute blast. But, it was simply hard to see. It's the cheap deaths that get annoying.

 

OK, you played it and you didn't like it. But you don't think it deserves a 2.0 out of 10 from a publication which rates everything else at least a 7 out of 10. I think we're all more or less in agreement on that point. If I'm wrong, correct me.

 

I think everyone is just ranting a bit because our illustrious shills in the gaming press started bashing this one out of the gate without even the slightest effort to play it. You gave it a chance. You didn't think it was all that and a bag of chips. But you gave it a fair shake.

 

The only issues I have are the ridiculously low ratings of 2 for the game and the statements that it's just Tempest with a twist. Nobody is required to like this game or like the graphics. Personally I think the graphics are great and make the game very challenging, but to each his own. Is Pac-Man CE just pacman with a twist? I don't think so, and that game is a lot closer to the original than Space Giraffe is to Tempest. They're both an evolution of the games, but not everyone is going to like the direction these classics were taken. Me I think they're both great. And by the way I never heard of Minter before people started posting about this game and have never played any of his games before. So I hardly qualify as a fanboy of his...

 

Like I said to each his own.

[Hyper_Eye]

The game play is fantastic. Bulling enemies off the web is an absolute blast. But, it was simply hard to see. It's the cheap deaths that get annoying.

 

OK, you played it and you didn't like it. But you don't think it deserves a 2.0 out of 10 from a publication which rates everything else at least a 7 out of 10. I think we're all more or less in agreement on that point. If I'm wrong, correct me.

 

I think everyone is just ranting a bit because our illustrious shills in the gaming press started bashing this one out of the gate without even the slightest effort to play it. You gave it a chance. You didn't think it was all that and a bag of chips. But you gave it a fair shake.

 

No I don't think it deserved a 2.0. That rating is ridiculously low. OXM has made some bad calls and I would say this is one of them. But, I can see where it would be easy to get frustrated and just write it off. I don't think the game is all that but it might be a bag of chips.

[128bytes]

Another excellent Space Giraffe review, this time in The Onion AV Club.

 

 

Here's a snippet:

Space Giraffe sounds difficult because it is. In spite of multiple in-game tutorials, the game really needs to be experienced, mulled over, and repeatedly failed before it can be fully understood. When that moment of video-game transcendence finally hits and everything clicks, it's a beautiful thing.

 

Beyond the game: Even Quentin Tarantino would be hard-pressed to cram this many obscure cultural references into his projects. Look for nods to The KLF, The Matrix, Super Mario Brothers, and Welsh shortwave number stations.

 

Worth playing for: Space Giraffe doesn't just hand out achievements. When you finally get one under your belt, you feel like you've earned it.

Edited September 10, 2007 by 128bytes