Quick Look: Runner3

Never played a runner but this looks aesthetically pleasing

Charles Martinet voiced Paarthurnax the dragon in Skyrim.

I guess Brad didn't see any Runner 2? That also had Charles Martinet doing the voice over.

I thought you were joking. This is crazy. Martinet is the Robin Williams of videogames.

these games are so fucking good. it's hard to describe (it kinda needs to be experienced), but the sense of momentum and exhilaration one gets from nailing a difficult section and having the music correspondingly swirl around you...ugh. it's what keeps me coming back to these. for me i suppose it's kinda like how some people adore Lumines (despite being very different).

they work with a very limited set of mechanics, but they absolutely nail it.

...now comes the difficult choice of pc or switch.

I'm really glad they got Charles Martinet again for this one. I loved him in Runner2, and it looks like they have more of him doing what he did in that game (aside from the ability to play as him, of course). The game itself looks great too, of course. It's basically more Runner with a few bits that move the series forward.

Maybe I should pick this up on the Humble store since I get a good discount on it.

The pre-Martinet Mario voice was always a gruff Brooklyn accent. Lou Albano, Walker Boone, Bob Hoskins, Marc Graue all pretty much did the same voice.

Martinet was told "Italian plumber from Brooklyn" and rather than do the obvious voice, he decided on the one we know today

I think there is a video on this very site of Brad playing Runner 2. It was an UPF, iirc.

Seeing the rhythm elements really makes me want to check this game out. Were the previous games like that?

I've played through Runner2 at least 3 times. Seeing the new twists they've added in this makes me really interested. Oh, and more Charles is always a plus.

@lyndbako: Runner 2 at least was very rhythm based like this. I highly recommend that game if you haven't played it and this one interests you. I don't remember what the first one was like, though.

Vinny was right!!

@lyndbako: The first one, BIT.TRIP Runner was basically a pure rhythm game, the sequels have added new mechanics and a lot more freedom in terms of timing and movement.

Runner 2 was my go to game to play in college with a close friend that didn't really play video games. Lots of good memories. Happy to see Runner 3.

I feel like I'm getting Deja Vu, you could swap this QL out for the last game and I swear the differences are minimal. Especially the cart stage.

All of the Bit Trip games were rhythm based, some more obviously so, some less. No idea if all of them got ports or if any are stuck on the sinking WiiWare shop.

Charles Martinet was in Kane & Lynch.

This is soooo not my kind of game, but I love just looking at it.

Also, I could go for a nice can of Fish Errors right about now.

Runner 2 was filled to the brim with stuff to do. Collecting new characters, guestcharacters, doing alternative paths, key & treasure chest route, retro levels, bonus levels. I never finished it.

This seems like a harder version of that, with possibly less characters? Given that the characters that Ben has unlocked have costumes to unlock. Hard to tell i guess.

Vinny was right.

i think more or less all of them are available on steam.

Loved the first Runner, perfected the second; very excited to get into the third.

I imagine a fair number of people will come off this video with an interest in it, so here it is:

Charles Martinet's IMDB Page.

Really? Cool! Always loved Paarthunax

They all are...buuuuuuut some of them have some severe issues, enough to make the pc versions not worth playing unfortunately. I specifically remember Flux having game ruining lag and timing issues, I think one of the other ones might have the same problems but can't remember which. I know at least the Runner games work perfectly.

Old Miserable Pete's "Catsup Style" Ketchup - Red Variant.

@lyndbako: The thing about the Runner games, though, is that they're less "rhythm games" and more "games where things happen to the rhythm". Since you're avoiding obstacles you actually have to hit buttons BEFORE the beats, otherwise you'd just run into them. At least, that's how I remember the first two being.

Apparently this is Charles doing vo. Guy has range.

This kinda looks worse than the two previous games, what happened? Shadows are drawing in 3 feet in front of the character—in a runner game... This is a first in term of technical ineptitude in a 2.5D platformer, for me.

[EDIT] Yeah, I just checked to make sure, and the second game does looks way better, and the first also holds up being more visually simplistic.

I'm starting to think it may just be Ben's fault considering this could be on PC, and so could the Subaeria quick look which also looks dreadful. Maybe Ben has no idea what he's doing on PC, and that the shitty visuals aren't the game's fault, but his. If this is the case, then he certainly shouldn't be the one doing these quick looks in the future.

I'm not really sure what you're talking about because this game looks dramatically better than Runner 2. I don't really like the art style, but this is way more technically advanced. I'm pretty picky when it comes to pop-in and I didn't notice any in this video at all, but this game hardly has any shadows in the first place. So if you're seeing some issues maybe there's something wrong with the video on your end?

Also, I'm almost certain that Ben knows how to use a PC, and the Suburbia QL was recorded on an Xbox One.

EDIT: Nevermind, I can see what you mean by pop-in now. It's pretty strange, but I didn't notice it on the pickup because of the fade. I didn't even realise that the grey patches in the fridge thing were supposed to be shadows in the first place. Aside from that level, the fade in seems like the sort of thing you wouldn't even notice while playing the game.

Dang, the fast fall makes this crazy. Smart addition.

I got to the last handful of levels in Runner2 on the WiiU and never finished it for some reason. I could totally go for more of this.

I wish you guys would have spent a few moments just letting the music play. The music is my favorite part of the games and I didn't get to hear terribly much of it in the quick look. Looks fun though!

Shit, I was gonna guess that Paul Williams was doing the voice.

Runner2 was so good.

Will gladly play this and just space out.

@missashley: Runner 2 also had fast fall, though maybe it wasn't quite this fast.

@lyndbako: all the runner games, and most all the bit trip games involve rhythm quite heavily. In Runner 2 and 3 specifically the soundtrack and gameplay are woven tightly. Youll often either be executing call/response from ost/inputs, or syncopating and jamming with the music. It comes down to the sounds that obstacles make once bested. the game begins to feel like reading sheet music to rhythm, where the note you play is jump/slide/kick/directional input/combo jump slide/combo jump kick/etc. executing a perfect run in a stage is an amazing feeling especially when you opt to jump over the checkpoint for a bonus (not shown in the QL) and once you start tossing in dance moves during each bit of downtime. the dance animation last for a set number of frames and you start to recognize when you have just enough time to toss one in for bonus points. im rambling slightly but these games are brilliant and quite deep for those who want to dive down. QL didnt even show the VHS levels which play completely differently. Theres an absurd amount of content in this gem

Rapt scallions. I chuckled.