Review of the Blaster’s Paradise
Let’s cut to the chase: Outso has written a poem.
And, if it were available now, I would end the review here: Step away from the computer. Turn on the PS3. Log into Home. And buy this space. Now. I guarantee you won’t regret it.
But it’s not available now — won’t be available for another few weeks, perhaps, unless you are lucky enough to score a promo code. Which I was, because Outso knows I have a habit of writing about things I like, and I’m a member of three interesting groups: Homelings, HomeStation Magazine, and Imagine! And so, I owe them.
But that’s not why I’m sitting here stunned, searching for the proper adjective. I’m quite capable of polite and workmanlike prose. If Blaster’s Paradise had been merely adequate, I would have said so, or implied it in words that left no doubt of my true opinion.
But… Outso has written a poem, in the medium it knows best: virtual worlds on the Home platform. They’ve done it before. And they have done it again. But this time it’s an octave higher and a fathom deeper.
I love Sodium One — love the look and feel of it, the sense of place, the explorable desert spaces, the details and features included not because they are selling you product, but for the sheer immersive joy of it. I love the hints of a history past and a world remade, where buildings are cobbled together from scrap and aircraft parts like a post-apocalyptic Burning Man festival, and silver-whale airships lumber across the sunset. And where, among these low-tech and post-tech surroundings, sophisticated ground-effects tanks fly across the salt flats, not to repel alien invaders or rival nations, but simply for the joy of blasting the hell out of equally sophisticated drones. All of which has made Salt Shooter the only game of its type at which I do not suck, simply because I loved it enough to learn to play it.
From what I have seen of the Sodium 2 beta, Outso has pulled off the same magic, this time with a racing game. But this is not a review of that game, or the public space that surrounds it. It’s a review of the associated private space, Blaster’s Paradise, currently available to a limited number of reviewers and beta testers.
When you enter the space, the first thing you notice is that we’re not in the desert any more. If I had to guess, I would say we are in New Zealand, or some place that fills the same psychic niche in the meta-world of Sodium. There are cliffs, and caves, and waterfalls, and palm trees, and ferns, and a vast horizon-piercing body of water which is either a quiet ocean or an enormous lake. After debating the subject, my guests and I opted for “lake”. It says a lot about the depth of creation in this space that such debates are not only possible, but do not feel silly. Yes, you know you are in a computer construct. But it feels… real. Deeply, utterly, magically real.
There’s also a hint of a vanished world, long since abandoned. Off to one side, there’s a mill — a water-mill with boarded windows and a tall undershot wheel, still turning. What it’s doing here is never explained. It’s just one of those things you see in Sodium, an evocative detail, included for the joy of it.
The structure set in this landscape has the familiar Sodium look: industrial components, aircraft parts, rough wood, ropes and canopies. It’s not a house — it’s more of a campsite, a place where the Sodium residents go for a a weekend to play games. There are several rooms connected by walkways, some gaming areas, a set of teleportals to other Sodium spaces (a very nice touch), and a small but lovely beach.
There are no picture frame spots. However, unlike the Salt Shooter space, you can set out furniture. Still, a full bedroom / living room / kitchen arrangement would just look silly. Put out some couches and floor-cushions and a barbeque on the beach, and you’re pretty much done and can move on to the gaming.
There’s one game built in already, and hints of another, much larger, yet to come. The game already baked in is “Tank Top”, an enjoyable air-table tank-battle simulator, with ridiculously simple controls and enough diversity in enemies and weapons to keep you and your guests amused for hours. The Techno music soundtrack makes it even more fun. This game would be enough to sell me on the apartment, even without the landscape.
The hint of things to come is a set of familiar launch rails beside a circular pit reminiscent of the “tank garage” in Salt Shooter. The pit is currently occupied by a 360-degree waterfall descending into nothing, a feature which my guests and I found simultaneously glorious and deeply disturbing. (Where’s all the water going?) But the rumor is that this is the site of a new Salt Shooter type game, played on the surface of the lake. When this will appear, and how it will be priced, is a mystery, at least to this reviewer.
But, even without the promise of a new addictive game in Home, Blaster’s Paradise is very close to complete and utter win. There are a few beta bugs, the sort one could expect with any new and innovative space. Furniture placement is a bit unstable, with items jittering before settling down, and rugs vanishing through the floor. (On the bright side, there are probably some really good glitches here, until these things are corrected.) I’m not happy with the lack of picture frame spots. And, since we have a beach, it feels like we should be able to go into the water. Knee-deep wading would have been fine. The invisible wall at the water’s edge is just plain annoying.
These are minor annoyances. The bottom line is, this space is beautiful. I expected to spend a little time in it last night, setting out some furniture and showing friends around. But we soon gathered a good-sized group — the four Imagine! founders, some wandering Homelings, and other friends who dropped by to see the new content. We sat on the beach, talking and gazing at the misty horizon. I arranged furniture, and set out the Loot Active Camera to use its zoom function to examine the distant landscape. My visitors debated whether the water was fresh or salt, wandered over to play Tank Top, left the space for other appointments and then returned to sit on the beach. Conversation grew slow and philosophical. Finally, at two in the morning, I apologized and sent them home so I could go to bed.
“It feels like a real place,” I remarked, as we said our farewells.
“A real, magical place,” a friend agreed.
It is all that. Real and magical, detailed and mysterious, and utterly, joyously immersive. But it’s more than that. Trust me on this.
It’s a poem.
April 18th, 2011 by SealWyf | 11 comments
SealWyf is a museum database programmer by day, and an officer in the Homeling Collective by night. She has been active in online communities since before the Internet, and in console gaming since the PS1. In games, she prefers the beautiful and quirky, and anything with a strong storyline. She is utterly addicted to PlayStation Home.
After reading this, and because of the respect I have for SealWyf’s opinion… I will, without a doubt, be adding this to my portfolio of properties that is already more vast than the Trump empire. I always wanted to live in a poem. The closest I’ve come to it is the Waterfall Terrace, which I love. Any place that is tranquil and promotes deep discussions is a place I want to be.
The mini-game is like a combination of salt shooter and Dead-ops arcade on blk-ops.I found this thing highly addictive and will buy this place asap just because of the mini-game alone.I’ve heard rumours of the price and think that if true it’s quite a bargain.I’ve paid the same price for other apartments and gotten less so i would consider this one a steal.
Wonderful article, Seal!
“It is all that. Real and magical, detailed and mysterious, and utterly, joyously immersive. But it’s more than that. Trust me on this.
It’s a poem.”
it’s exactly what i feeling in this oniric place….
pics:
http://www.hsmagazine.net/forum/general-discussion-group2/main-forum-forum2/sodium2-blaster-thread87/
Great review, Seal! I had the pleasure of visiting DarthGranny’s Blaster’s Paradise space the other day, and I agree with everything you said. The Tank Top 1.0 mini-game is very simple and yet absorbing, and the ambiance of the the space is incredible.
I’m not a big consumer of Personal Spaces in Home -- the Dolphy Room is the only non-free PS I have, and I bought that to enter the races -- but I will be picking up Blaster’s Paradise when it’s released. Thanks for the preview!
Is it possible to earn Sodium credits, while playing Tank Top 1.0 ? Just wondering if anyone noticed while playing the game ?
I don’t believe i did get any credits while playing,if i did it did not tell me or i didn’t notice.Also if it did give any it was a small amount that was un-noticed when i hit sodium 2 later that night.
I just received an update from Outso:
Quick FAQ from the weekend so far:
i) There aren’t any spots for picture frames we’re afraid (we know this means a lot to some people).
ii) We are aware of some of the collision issues with some small objects and the floors. It’s been flagged and we will get it fixed as soon as we can
iii) No credits, objectives or rewards are currently available for TankTop 1.0
(I have a feeling item i) was aimed directly at me.)
Thanks for the heads up Seal and cthulu. Hopefully they’ll had something to tank top once it goes public.
Great review. The space was cool, too… love the tank game!
Thanks for the invite last night