Knights of the Cardboard Castle

Yeah, yeah, I know that the sequel was released not too long ago. One of the professors of the Introduction to Interactive Programming in Python class I’m taking on Coursera.org bragged about he bought the game on the very first day that the class opened to the public. But I bought the complete pack of the first game during the Summer Sales I think and only just now got around to playing it. I know it’s a mainly multiplayer game and I play mainly single-player so I toned down my expectations accordingly.

• I was surprised by the low level of polish all around, especially with regards to the user interface and information screens. The UI paradigm feels inconsistent and not properly thought out. The map is unhelpful, not even labeling the names of outposts and exits from the current map. The fast travel system is a pain to use because it is just a list of names of places, with no map to show how each place relates to each other or where your active quest wants you to head to. Very messy and unprofessional.

• It was more of a straightforward combat slog than I thought, with only a perfunctory nod to story and characters. Few voice-overs for mission briefings too, and the mission text doesn’t seem designed to be read. The designers probably expected you to just head off to the quest marker immediately. And the claptraps are their best attempt at humor? Please.

• Even so, the gameplay itself is pleasingly easy to get into. It’s like junk food. Uncomplicated, easy to digest, nothing to think about. Just shoot. Yeah, you can customize your character and play around with weapons. Loading up guns with explosive mods sure is fun. But it’s all about the straightforward shooting, again and again and again.
• Chasing loot is where this game really shines. It’s unbelievably addictive to go after ever better guns and to try out new guns when you get them. I haven’t seen this wide a variety of guns in any game before. They have a clever system of making each gun out of components and randomly generating each of the parts, so each gun looks different. And shiny! Don’t forget the shiny.
• The most annoying part is that enemies respawn way too fast. I have fun while shooting up enemies on the way to the objective. I’m annoyed when I have to shoot through the same set of enemies on the way out. Why couldn’t they do it like Diablo and spawn enemies only when a world is loaded?

Overall, not a game to get really excited about. But it’s a good example of how just getting the basics right can make for a decent game. I guess I’ll go check out the DLC next because I see that I somehow own all of them.