Bastion Previews
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As far as how it plays, it's a fairly typical isometric action adventure, but a well constructed one. The kid has long range and melee weapons, a shield for blocking (and deflecting projectiles), and a rolling evade maneuver. Just from the demo, I was able to grasp a good amount of variety from the weapons. A pistol shoots several weak shots in quick succession, a bow and arrow takes time to charge but deals significant damage, and a shotgun is powerful, but holds little ammo and has a kickback effect. Combat seems deep, and it'll be interesting to see how it progresses throughout the game. My only qualm with the controls is that you walk unusually slow.
Aesthetically, the game is beautiful, with hand-painted animation bringing the world to life. It's lush oversized vegetation and colorful anime-esque art style make it feel like Lewis Carroll by way of Boktai. As you progress through this shattered world, pieces of the ground appear before you, giving the sense that the world only exists as you come into contact with it. It's a neat effect to synchronize the gameplay with the narration with the level design. The only problem I had with this is that sometimes it wouldn't be clear where to go because the walkway I'd need wouldn't appear until I stood in the right place next to it.
And the second from Able Gamers:
The game plays out in a traditional action RPG sense, moving with the analog stick and attack with the face buttons. The player can also roll to evade any sort of danger and you soon gain the use of a shield to help reduce incoming damage. Amir told me that he wasn't sure just how well Bastion would fair in our mobility category which is definitely the category that has seen more low scores than the other categories. Amir also said that there shouldn't be any color troubles since everything also contains a graphical distinction besides color when playing.
Difficulty is handled in a bit of a unique way in Bastion, using a system involving shrines, which Darren was more than happy to explain to Marco. Throughout the game the player will encounter these shrines that, if the player chooses, can alter the difficulty of the game, for example making the enemies faster. This is completely optional and in no way is forced upon the player. If you do choose to make the game more difficult, you will be rewarded with extra bonuses when you defeat enemies. This presents a completely customizable way to alter the difficulty of the game, considering you can have as little or as many shrines active at once as you want.
