Final Form Games’ Jamestown: Review & Giveaway
Jamestown Gameplay
The video game community in Philadelphia is ever-growing but Final Form Games has exploded onto the scene with their recent release of Jamestown.
A game 2 years in the making, its June 7th release has yielded so much buzz that Steam made it one of the featured games on their homepage. Not to shabby for this small Philly video game company that can tout itself as the 1st Philly video game release to Steam!
I had the chance to visit Final Form’s studio space and demo the game this past week and I can tell you first hand that all the fuss about this awesome game is well worth it.
Chart Inside Final Form’s Studio
Final Form inhabits a small space in the “Clothespin Building” right near City Hall. Boasting an incredible view of the city, the studio exhibits the evidence of the 2-year process that game developers Halsted Larsson, Tim Ambrogi and Mike Ambrogi went through to bring Jamestown to life. Charts, notes, and computers litter the space. Hal and Tim were kind enough to iron out some known bugs and set up a test game for my friend Derek and myself to play.
Jamestown is a neo-classical top down 4-player co-op shooter and while it can be played solo, 2 players at least are recommended. The look of the game is brilliant – a throwback to classic games that will have any long time gamer thinking lovingly back to their childhood. The game is set in 1619 but with a steampunk feel; you are piloting ships that are sent to destroy the alien invasion that has wiped out Jamestown and is intent to wreak havoc on the rest of the America.
There are 5 levels of difficulty (“Normal” for you n00bs up to “Judgment” being just plain insane!). The neat thing about this game in co-op mode is that as long as 1 person survives the alien onslaught you have the ability to keep the rest of your party alive.
Jamestown Featured on Steam: Win!
This option truly helped out for someone like me who tends to rush right into the gameplay in what I like to call “operation human shield.” If you beat one of the levels on the “difficult” level you then have access to bonus levels; boards that have specific goals such as “survive for 15 seconds.” You start with a ship that specializes in shooting beams but 3 other ships (as well as many other valuable items) can be purchased in the “Shoppe” using the coins you earn during gameplay.
The game is wrought with homages to classic games (such as Space Invaders) that only add to the intense gameplay. If you like classic shooters than Jamestown will be right up your alley. And priced at only $9.99 on Steam, it won’t do too much damage on your wallet either. Want to save some cash?
We’ve got 5 FREE Activation keys to give away to our loyal readers! Just leave a comment below on your favorite classic video game and we’ll pick 5 comments at random next week to receive a key! Sorry Mac users, this game is only available in PC format (for now).
Favorite “classic” video game? Hmmm. It’s going to be a choice between the original “Bionic Commando” and “Ikari Warriors”, at least if childhood playtime is any indicator.
Probably Ikari.
Gauntlet! “Blue Elf needs food badly”
It’s not one of the *earliest* great games, but it is perhaps the *GREATEST* early game..
Zelda 3: A Link to the Past!
Golden Axe without a doubt.
Altered Beast!!! POWER UP!
“Adventure” for the Atari 2600. i totally loved killing those giant ducks…..
My favorite classic game is by far Shining Force 2 on the sega genesis. I played that game so many times and had written game informer to publish a strategy guide at least 3 separate times due to no Internet.
Too many to choose, but I loved Super Sprint as a kid.
Oh man… the last game that I dumped sick numbers of quarters into at the arcade was Commando.
Dragon’s Lair most certainly
Sonic the Hedgehog.
super mario!!!
Jamestown..congrats to the developers. this seems to be my kind of game.
Super Mario Bros. 3, without a doubt.
Top down shooters have become pretty popular lately, but very few seem to do for nostalgia. This will fill the gap as far as I can see.
And favourite classic game would definitely be Contra. I played that game for hours on end.