LocoCycle (2013)
I first heard about LocoCycle in a “post mortem” article from an issue of Game Developer magazine (no longer in publication). I remember the game sounding fun, and that’s how it made its way onto my short list of games to play. I got it in the Indie Gala Every Monday Bundle #6, for one dollar.
From the opening cinematic, (“Powered by BEARD”), you should know not to take the game too seriously. But it’s the mix of professionalism (well-rendered low-poly graphics, full orchestral score, excellent real-life bike models, and familiar actors for the film scenes) and budget camp (poorly edited/directed film scenes, button mashing gameplay, flat-out terrible QTE prompts, and a somewhat incoherent plot) that might confuse you into trying to make sense of it all. So – don’t do that. Just enjoy the ride, and don’t pay too much attention to the inconsistencies or too much money for the game.
If you hate QTEs, stay away from this game. If you hate arcade shooters with targets, stay away from this game. If you can get past that, or if you even enjoy that, you might kinda like this game. The rest of the gameplay mostly involves button mashing A, X, and Y on your controller – especially once you have all the upgrades, as well as dodging various obstacles on the streets while holding B to shoot everything. It’s not terrible gameplay, but it’s not entirely engaging either. What holds it together though, is rather good animations and flashy sequences and creatively unique enemies for each of the six main stages.
You will fail. And it won’t be your fault. But, you also aren’t penalized too much other than having a glaring “F” on your screen for not reading the developer’s minds with their quick-time-event prompts. New mechanics are introduced on the fly every main stage or so (each stage usually has three sections, except for the Prologue and the Finale), and instructions for the new QTE mechanics are nearly non-existent. So you fail. In spite of this, however, I was still easily able to acquire all of the upgrades just a few sections before actually finishing the game. So, with the lack of severe punishment, this almost gets a pass from me. But it’s something to keep in mind, and it didn’t feel very fair to be graded on it. I imagine that this is one of the games that caused the severe backlash against QTEs back in the day.
But… is LocoCycle enjoyable? Yes! Again… just enjoy it, don’t take it all too seriously, and it’s pretty great. It’s a short game (I beat it in around 3-4 hours, across two sessions of gaming, in one day). And the achievements respect the player’s time. I’ll probably kick the last five out today. Three of my remaining achievements are gameplay related, and only two of those may prove to be somewhat difficult – the other one’s just a matter of time and driving badly.
Lastly… I’m currently learning Spanish. And one of the main characters only speaks Spanish. So, for me, that was kinda cool. But internationalization wouldn’t work, since him speaking a foreign language is, tangentially, part of the story. If you don’t speak English, I’m not sure what options there are in the game for it to make sense for you. (There are English subtitles.)
So, if you like semi-varied controller-based gameplay, want a short game without too much challenge, don’t mind failing a bit, want a corny story with a decent ending, and don’t take either yourself or gaming too seriously… then go ahead and put LocoCycle on your to-play list.
Thank you to BLAEO!
This is my first game beaten since joining BLAEO, and this site/group is a large part of the reason I can put another notch in my backlog. You helped me pare down my library of a few thousand titles into a “short” list of a few hundred that I’m actively interested in playing, and from there I cut that down to a paltry twenty-six to beat for the year, based on a rough estimate of how many it would actually be practical to finish in that time without making gaming some sort of unpaid career.
Thank you for helping me create this list of “The 26”. (The first six titles on that list are games I beat earlier this year, prior to joining the site.)
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LocoCycle#7 of 26 (2017)
7 hours playtime
15 of 20 achievements
So some games on your list I do know and love others on there are waiting in my library as well for me to finally get around and play them. And some…. are nothing for me but still sound nice :D
Good luck in getting them killed ;)
But man, that’s really just scratching the surface with ME 2 :D Got 233h playtime and I know… I will return one of these days :] ;)
Happy backlog killing!
Yeah, on ME2, I keep oscillating between not caring about all the DLC and freaking out that I don’t have it all (typically more the latter than the former). A friend got it for me on release, so I put some time into it, but a part of my brain is always screaming at me that I don’t have the full game yet… sigh… why, EA?… why?…
I don’t expect most people to know “Phantasmagoria” or “I Have No Mouth…”, if those are a couple of those that are nothings for ya. Those made it to my “been wanting to play for years” list from seeing them on the shelves of retail stores a long long time ago! :)
Thanks for the happy backlog assassination wishes! :)
Ah, I see. But although I liked the DLC for 2, you can play the game without them. It’s not essential. Whereas if you have 3, you REALLY have to get the Citadel DLC! It’s just…… <3
So yes, so far I’ve spent money and got like every one of those DLC. Now I’m annoyed for not having theme on my first goes though, since the first few characters miss these stories as well -.-
Seen the second on sg I think. But the other one: your right :D
But I know Doom for example, but won’t play it. For various reasons. First: It frightend me as a teen, when my brother played it O.o. Second, it’s a fps as far as I know. Therefore gaming sickness and not working. Third…. it’s mostly a shooter and somehow they are not that appealing to me ;)
I like games with shooting, but the shooting shouldn’t be the main thing about the game :D
Haha! I have even more: Have a nice weekend (I know I’m early, but in Germany today is a… uhm, free day so most ppl probably have tomorrow as well free, therefore already weekend :D)
Good to know, about the ME DLC. I’ve been a Steam die-hard for a while and I’m not sure when I’ll ever get ME3 though – maybe if Humble hopefully includes it in an Origin bundle or something. :) (It’s more about it not being on Steam, than about it being on Origin – Origin’s fine these days.)
And yes, the new DOOM is pretty much just a straight FPS, but in the best way, if you like that sort of game. Sounds like it’s not up your alley though! :) (I’ve had the gaming motion sickness on a few titles, even the old Half-Life when I tried to play it again many years later, but thankfully DOOM didn’t induce it.)
Happy semi-early-but-not weekend to you, too! :)
Yeah, I know that problem. It’s like I wanna play games on origin, but just can’t seem to do it with that much hearth, because it’s not on steam. Mew. Even more of an annoyance, because I have some games I could spent ages with on origin. Like the ME games, DA and Sims. Oh, right. This alien creation and rising game as well. What was it think Spore. That’s it! So, yeah. Steam and Origin should do something about that :D
Ah, as long as you enjoy it, that’s nice :)
And gamers somehow always find some games/genres both like :D
Thank you :]
Nice summary! This is the first time I hear about Lococycle. So they filmed live cutscenes just for this game? That’s awesome. Also, the store page description is beautiful.
Newly self-aware, I.R.I.S. the martial-arts wielding assassin motorcycle, has begun a cross-continent escape to freedom. I.R.I.S.’s only ally is her engineer Pablo, who gets conscripted into the quest after his pant leg gets caught in her chassis. Hunted by the psychopathic motorcycle S.P.I.K.E. and a multinational weapons cartel, I.R.I.S. and Pablo face long odds, but they are riding for ‘Murica and freedom - so how can they lose?
Good luck with The 26!
Yep! – and I kinda wish the FMVs were a little bit better, but from the behind-the-scenes footage (included in the game), it seems like they just aimed for shooting everything in one take. I wish Robert Patrick (Terminator 2, X-Files) got some live action screen time, but he’s still good as the voice of a motorcycle. And apparently the writer of Guardians of the Galaxy also moonlights as an actor…
Nice list of (26) games you got there. Based on the gametime you’ve already put in, it looks like it’s an achievable goal for you. On the other hand, my itching to play list is more of a lifetime goal. :P
Thank you! I’m hoping it’s a beatable list, but many are longer games where I tend to take my time exploring. Plus, I’m about six games behind for the year. Hopefully with BLAEO though, I’ll be encouraged to catch up and finish the whole list anyway!
On your “itching to play” list, especially since you note being an achievement hunter on your profile, you should probably at least start The Stanley Parable though. Technically, I’m playing “The Stanley Parable” right now, even though I haven’t started it up in three years… :)
Otherwise, I can only wish you luck! I’ve finished the original Deus Ex and Mass Effect, but both were completed on release and are daunting to go back to. I’ve played Still Life (it’s rough… shows its age), Game of Thrones (played with the GF, and kinda forgot about it), Her Story (doable, but I don’t think I’ve actually finished, and achievements are a pain), and The Talos Principle (this almost made it into my 26, but it might take me too long to satisfyingly finish). The Walking Dead - Season Two, while not as good as the first, in my opinion, should be a relatively easy one to cross off – I’ve got nine hours and 100% achievements on that! :)
The rest… I’ve just about nearly never played!