Dasquian Belargic
Aug 21st, 2011, 05:53:01 AM
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The premise of Bastion is (deceptively) simple:
The game takes place in the aftermath of the Calamity, a catastrophic event that suddenly fractured the world as people knew it into many pieces and led to an infestation of hostile creatures.
Players take control of the Kid, a silent protagonist who awakens on one of the few remaining pieces of the old world and sets off for the titular Bastion, where everyone agreed to go in troubled times. He finds almost nothing left upon arrival, but is told by a wise old man that together, they could build something special.
The Kid then embarks on a quest to reconstruct the world the way it used to be, while the old man narrates his adventure and provides details on what exactly has happened.
You hack and hammer and shoot your way through levels that build themselves before your eyes, all to find pieces of the world that was, so you can rebuild it anew.
You have a whole arsenal of weapons that can be upgraded plenty of times, and by carrying two weapons at a time (along with a secret skill, which is like a spell or special move) you can vary your playing style a lot. Through spirits (yes, alcohol) you can give the Kid extra skills and strengths, and by setting idols to the old gods on a shrine, you can tweak the difficulty level of a game, earning yourself extra rewards.
Aside from the simple yet addictive gameplay, Bastion really shines in its soundtrack and narration. You can hear the narrator in the trailer I posted above. He narrates on the fly, commenting randomly on choices you make, whilst also filling you in on the background of the Calamity and the world as it was.
I finished the story in a little shy of 7 hours worth of gameplay, but there is plenty more still to do with the New Game Plus mode, that lets you carry over all your upgrades and try again on a more challenging difficulty level. Also, there are a few sections of the story where you're given the option to make one choice or another, which I am intrigued to go back and choose the opposite answer for!
If you want to take a look at some gameplay, here's someones Lets Play of the first 15 minutes:
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The premise of Bastion is (deceptively) simple:
The game takes place in the aftermath of the Calamity, a catastrophic event that suddenly fractured the world as people knew it into many pieces and led to an infestation of hostile creatures.
Players take control of the Kid, a silent protagonist who awakens on one of the few remaining pieces of the old world and sets off for the titular Bastion, where everyone agreed to go in troubled times. He finds almost nothing left upon arrival, but is told by a wise old man that together, they could build something special.
The Kid then embarks on a quest to reconstruct the world the way it used to be, while the old man narrates his adventure and provides details on what exactly has happened.
You hack and hammer and shoot your way through levels that build themselves before your eyes, all to find pieces of the world that was, so you can rebuild it anew.
You have a whole arsenal of weapons that can be upgraded plenty of times, and by carrying two weapons at a time (along with a secret skill, which is like a spell or special move) you can vary your playing style a lot. Through spirits (yes, alcohol) you can give the Kid extra skills and strengths, and by setting idols to the old gods on a shrine, you can tweak the difficulty level of a game, earning yourself extra rewards.
Aside from the simple yet addictive gameplay, Bastion really shines in its soundtrack and narration. You can hear the narrator in the trailer I posted above. He narrates on the fly, commenting randomly on choices you make, whilst also filling you in on the background of the Calamity and the world as it was.
I finished the story in a little shy of 7 hours worth of gameplay, but there is plenty more still to do with the New Game Plus mode, that lets you carry over all your upgrades and try again on a more challenging difficulty level. Also, there are a few sections of the story where you're given the option to make one choice or another, which I am intrigued to go back and choose the opposite answer for!
If you want to take a look at some gameplay, here's someones Lets Play of the first 15 minutes:
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