 | Botaniculicious |
I have once again found myself in that awkward position where I have a bunch of reviews to write and a few games to play. I've been dying to play some stuff, but for some reason I've had an unhealthy obsession with Puzzle & Dragons. I aim to quell that.
Anyway, when this next wave is done, I should have new reviews for:
WWF Raw (32X)
Wizorb (PC)
Botanicula (PC)
Wasteland Angel (PC)
Dolphin (Atari 2600)
Plus I've started a new game by request that I intend to review:
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Albedo: Eyes from Outer Space (PC)
Imagine a hybrid graphic adventure-survival horror game with a bit of Corman camp and a wonky combat system. That's pretty much Albedo. It's a point and click title where you roam around a space station that has been attacked by tentacled eye monsters. Puzzles ensue.
So far, the game seems to be divided into rooms, with each room housing a puzzle that must be solved before you can advance. Right now I'm in the fourth of these chambers, the boiler room, and all I've done is kill an eye and drink a beer.
Thus far, I'm teetering between impressed and underwhelmed. The atmosphere and the B-movie feel are terrific, and the puzzles are actually pretty decent. The combat, as I indicated earlier, isn't all that great and feels tacked on. Hopefully this won't be an issue in the coming "rooms."
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Botanicula (PC)
I finished this game. I realize that I haven't really written in-depth about it here, but there really isn't much to write. Imagine opening the YouTube app on your phone and putting a string of Monty Python animated segments on repeat, then dropping some acid, sticking your head in a tree whilst still watching the MP vid, and having someone speak to you in tongues. It's an odd point and click game, one that I don't mind so much, mainly because it's weird, but not one that I'd call "great." I'm not big on how the first half or so of the game can pretty much be solved via trial and error, but thankfully the second half features some decent logic puzzles.
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Wasteland Angel (PC)
I'm not fond of this game, and I'm done playing it.
No, I haven't beaten it. I suppose I could, but I don't really see a point. It's unimaginative, repetitive, and a tad glitchy. What inspired me to give up was the fourth boss. Defeating a boss is a simple matter. All you have to do is load up on sub-weapons (landmines, napalm), which are traps that you can lay on the ground, and place them in the boss's driving path. Easy, right? The only hitch is that foes suck at pathfinding, and that goes for bosses. The fourth boss stage has a building in the middle of the map that the boss loves to gravitate to. Of course, he always gets stuck because he attempts to drive through the obstruction, but can't. Because of that, you often can't defeat the fourth boss because he's incapable of driving over your traps.
I did eventually kill the guy and moseyed on to the fifth area. After completing a stage that was exactly like every other stage before it, I decided it was time to call it a day. I exited the game and came back later to reload my file. For the second time, the game decided that autosaving my file was not a priority and I was back at the fourth boss again.
Nope. I'm not having any of that garbage. Fuck you, Wasteland Angel. You're not even as good as Zombie Driver anyway, and that's saying something.
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Final Fantasy: The 4 Heroes of Light (DS)
I don't know if this is really much of progress. I recruited a mouse and turned Brandt into a dog after completing a dungeon. I guess I'm supposed to go see a queen or something and do another dungeon. I really want to play this game more often, but it hasn't been in the cards of late.
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The Tragically Ignored
The Adventures of Rocky and Bullwinkle and Friends (NES; yes, I'm plan to play through this and review it)
Dolphin (2600)
Brutal Legend (X360)
Tiki Towers (Wii)
Arc Ris Fantasia (Wii)
Chronicles of a Dark Lord (PC0
Soul Reaver 2 (PS2)
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honestgamer - April 13, 2015 (09:01 AM) I tried Puzzle & Dragons before, and it didn't click at the time, but I will try it again when it arrives on 3DS. I have it pre-ordered, thanks to the Mario element. In the meantime, I've been playing Monster Strike for months. Very similar hooks, with some neat differences. I created a profile here on the site and posted screenshots, in case you want a glimpse. |
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dementedhut - April 15, 2015 (12:47 AM) Wizorb seems like one of those games that's been around for a long time, so it threw me for a loop when I saw that it was just released in 2011. I guess I've heard it mentioned in passing so many times that it did some kind of warped time perception thingy to my head. Always wanted to try it, but never got around to it. |
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overdrive - April 16, 2015 (11:55 AM) I suppose that's a far, far better reason to play an indie game than "I need to fill 'U' for the AlphaMarathon, so let's give Unreal Land a try". PROTIP: Do not give Unreal Land a try. It started out dull, but inoffensive, as a platformer based on the old classics to a degree (you shoot enemies instead of jumping on them), but then didn't waste time with the "picture perfect timing of jumps over instant-death water" stuff where you have no room for error. |
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JoeTheDestroyer - April 24, 2015 (12:27 AM) Heavily belated response: Jason- It's been just the opposite for me. While I like Monster Strike (and I'm incredibly bummed that I missed its Godzilla collab), I've invested more time into PAD and it's paid off big time. I had a rocky start, but after landing some impressive monsters from the last few collaborations and "carnivals," as they call them, I've assembled a pretty strong team and have been advancing quickly. I've noticed that the longer you hold on, the more that becomes available to you. As you level up, new features and specialty dungeons crop up. Unfortunately, I'm still not strong enough to take on some of those dungeons. I've attempted some with various Roman and Greek gods offered as prizes, but I usually get stomped before I can even reach the boss. Pickhut- I liked Wizorb, but I wouldn't say it was great. I think it kind of got lame towards the end because it began to fall into some of the same traps that older brick and ball games did, and not the good ones. E.G. your ball getting stuck hitting non-breakable blocks for ages before nailing a single breakable brick and coming back to you at sonic speed. It does, however, showcase some interesting concepts, enough that I would be game for a sequel if they would just fix the more irksome qualities about the game. OD- I tend to like intensely over-demanding platformers, so you might have just sold me on that. Then again, I also thought I'd like Gish because it's an intensely over-demanding platformer, and I'm of the opinion that it sucks. |
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