Objective: Get the required number of gooballs to each level's pipe and discover the truth behind the mysterious World of Goo Corporation.
How it Works: As a physics based puzzle game, World of Goo revolves around making structures using gooballs. By placing a gooball next to an existing goo structure, connections are created between the new and old balls. Care must be taken concerning the weight of the structure as it's built towards the exit pipe.
Throughout the game, many different types of gooballs are introduced. For example, matchstick goos explode upon contact with fire, balloon goos can be used to float the main structure, and bone goos cannot be harmed by environmental hazards.
Thoughts: My favourite thing about World of Goo is that it has an engrossing narrative despite being a physics puzzler. The story is mostly delivered by humourous signs placed around each level, and the occasional cutscene. That being said, one may not be able to fully experience the story because some levels are quite difficult. Only try this one out if you have the patience to try levels multiple times.
Objective: Search for your lost princess while traveling through worlds and collecting puzzle pieces.
How it Works: Braid is a platformer with a unique mechanic: you are able to reverse time with the click of a button. Each world has a variation of the rewind feature. For example, one world is set so moving right moves time forward while moving left moves time backwards, and another world creates a "shade" that follows your previous path after rewinding. These mechanics must be utilized to solve a variety of puzzles in order to obtain puzzle pieces (that form pictures).
Thoughts: Braid is an incredibly vague game narratively. Each world begins with several books that tell an abstract story about loss and mistakes. Some may be turned off by this, but the game really isn't about the story. The unique game mechanic is the greatest feature of Braid, and is used ingeniously to create the (often quite perplexing) puzzles.
Objective: Bowser has stolen the Star Rod and kidnapped Princess Peach, so Mario must rescue the seven Star Spirits in order to defeat him.
How it Works: Paper Mario is a turn-based RPG. In the overworld, Mario can use his hammer and jump abilities to move through the environments. Each party member (one can be selected at a time) has their own overworld ability as well, which is often used to solve puzzles.
In battle, Mario and his partner can make one action per turn. These range from ordinary attacks, special attacks (which use FP), items, or Star Spirit abilities. Attacking and defending require action commands in order to successfully pull off the move. Experience is gained after every battle, awarding extra health, FP, or "badge points" (used to add skills) upon leveling up.
Thoughts: The original Paper Mario was a very aesthetically unique game on its release. Doing away with the realistic graphics of Super Mario RPG changed the feel of the game to something more lighthearted. The best feature of Paper Mario is its humour, although it pales in comparison to its sequel. The use of action commands in battle prevents combat from becoming stale, especially as new moves are learned and party members are gained. Also, the game does not require grinding in order to proceed, allowing for smooth narrative flow. I would recommend trying this game out, especially if you don't like your RPGs too challenging.
Objective: Defend your clients in court while uncovering the real perpetrator of the crime.
How it Works: Gameplay in Phoenix Wright is divided into two sections: courtroom and investigation. In court, witnesses provide testimony that contradicts evidence in some way. You must identify the false statement and show which piece of evidence proves it. Chunks of testimony are given at a time and you have the option to either show evidence or "press" for more information.
Outside of court, you undertake point-and-click investigations. Several different one or two screen areas can be visited through a "move" function. In each area, you must either investigate clues by clicking on them or you can talk to people by selecting a dialogue box. In the final case, there is also the opportunity to use various forensic tools that make use of the DS touch pad and microphone.
Thoughts: Despite being essentially a visual novel, all the Phoenix Wright games are among my favourites. This is due entirely to the courtroom sequences, which use awesome music and fast paced editing to create excitement. I admit that these are more or less a guilty pleasure and are not for everybody. Also, the investigation sequences are very tedious as there is a lot of moving around trying to find one clue or dialogue option that you missed.
Objective: Link must rescue his sister Aryll and protect the land from the evil Ganon using the power of the winds.
How it Works: The Wind Waker controls the same as any other 3D Zelda game. The A button is used for a variety of commands such as rolling or climbing, the B button controls the sword, R fixes the camera and controls the shield, L is used to target, and a multitude of items can be assigned to Y,X, and Z.
The most notable feature of Wind Waker over other Zelda games is the sailing mechanic. Each island on the map is separated by a sizeable amount of ocean. You must alter the direction of the wind (using the Wind Waker item) in order to sail in the desired direction. While sailing, bombs can be used as a cannon, and the grappling hook can be used as a salvage crane.
As alluded to, the "instrument" featured in The Wind Waker is the eponymous baton. After being learned, six different songs can be played using the control stick to set the time signature (which acts like a metronome) and the C-stick to set the pitch.
Thoughts: The Wind Waker has always been my favourite Zelda game. I decided to play the HD remake on the Wii U since I misplaced my copy of the Gamecube edition. While many people seem to have found the sailing tedious (leading to a faster sail on the Wii U), I never minded it.
Everything about this game fits very well. The score manages to sound like Zelda music while adding an "island" element (it sounds Irish to me). I especially enjoy the cel shaded graphics, which perfectly compliment the innocent feel of the game.
**As the sheer scale of this task begins to take hold, I've realized that I should get through all the games I currently have access to before things change. From this point on, I will no longer keep chronological order in my posts.
Release Date: 2009
Original Platform: PS3
Played On: PS4
Objective: Return life to dying fields and dreary cityscapes.
How it Works: You control the wind, using the DualShock controller's gyroscope for motion controls. As you approach an unbloomed flower, it blossoms to life and adds a pedal to your collection on the wind. Certain clumps of flowers cause changes when bloomed, such as restoring life to patch of grass or starting up a windmill.
Thoughts: I was skeptical of this game when it was first released, as reviews focused mostly on "positive emotions" and "beautiful scenery" as opposed to comments on the gameplay itself. I eventually purchased it based on its low price, and rather enjoyed it (although it is very brief). I have no idea why, but floating around and making flowers bloom is surprisingly engaging, and there is even a few challenging spots, despite what you may have heard.
My only real complaint with Flower is that the motion controls occasionally make turning a painful endeavour, especially when you are trying to be precise. That being said, don't let this stop you from trying Flower out!
Objective: Descend through the procedurally generated dungeon to retrieve the Amulet of Yendor
How it Works: You control an avatar (represented by '@' on ASCII versions) which can move freely about rooms in the dungeon. Until visited, hallways and other rooms cannot be seen by the player. Rooms can contain items, gold, monsters, traps, and stairwells. Stairs can be used to descend (but not ascend) through the dungeon in order to reach lower levels.
You begin equipped with a short ranged weapon and a bow that can be used to defeat D&D-inspired enemies. Combat is turn based, and is initiated by moving into a space occupied by a monster. Defeating monsters earns experience points which translate into improved stats. Items found include food (needed to stave off hunger, which can be deadly), potions, and spells. The effects of potions and spells is unknown until used, and thus can be helpful or harmful. New weapons and armour can be found scattered around the rooms.
The HUD displays several pieces of information: the current floor of the dungeon, remaining HP, strength and armour stats, gold (points), and experience points.
Thoughts: The version of Rogue I played on my iPhone offers either ASCII graphics (as seen pictured) or more modern sprite-based graphics. I prefer the sprite graphics, as fewer rooms are shown on-screen, allowing for more precise use of the touch controls. The game itself is actually quite fun, especially on a mobile device where I can play in small chunks. Since the game is "roguelike" (meaning permanent character death, also the origin of the term), the procedurally generated map changes entirely upon each play, making the game feel fresh constantly.
My biggest complaint about Rogue is that occasionally the generated dungeon will not be navigable, or if it is, a lack of instructions on how to proceed. During one particularly successful playthrough, I descended into a room that had no exits that weren't dead ends. Regardless, this is a very fun game. I recommend picking up the mobile version.
Objective: Protect the cities from oncoming nuclear missiles.
How it Works: Missile Command has two major controls. First, you move a crosshairs across the sky using a trackball (or mouse). This shows where your cannons are aiming. Second, you have three bases and separate buttons to fire a rocket from each of them. Each base has a limited amount of rockets it can fire.
Missiles rain down from the sky either aiming at a city or a base. If a missile hits a base, that base loses all remaining rockets. If the missile hits a city, it is destroyed. If all cities are destroyed, the game is over. Therefore, you must use your rockets to shoot the missiles out of the sky before they hit something important.
Thoughts: I agree with the 1001 Games to Play book's assertion that this game's trackball controls feel more modern than the joystick controls that were common in arcades at the time. The freedom to aim anywhere on the screen quickly is essential to playing Missile Command well. I feel that the real challenge is being able to pick the correct base that will be able to reach the crosshairs in time to destroy the missiles. I often found myself panicking and shooting from the farthest base away, only to watch the missiles soar past the crosshairs. I'm sure this game exists in modern form, and I'd recommend trying it out.
Played On: Browser - Virtual Apple II (http://www.virtualapple.org/)
Objective: Go on over 200 adventures made by members of the Eamon community.
How it Works: Eamon is a text-based RPG in which the player goes on adventures in order to retrieve treasure. As a stat-based RPG, the player has numbers assigned to "Hardiness" (a measure of strength), "Agility" (a measure of speed), and "Charisma" (a measure of likeability by NPCs). Players can be equipped with weapons, armour, and spells in the game's hub, the Main Hall. From here, a large number of adventures may be explored. Dungeons contain a large number of puzzles and enemies to defeat in order to gain the largest amount of treasure possible.
To control the character, Eamon uses a simple parser based on a given list of commands. These include attacking, directional commands for movement, and using items picked up by the player.
Thoughts: Eamon is the first completely text-based game I've played for this blog (not including Oregon Trail). The parser is very limited, based on simple verb-subject phrasing. I found that this limits the puzzle solving aspect of Eamon and focuses the game on combat and exploration. That being said, the attribute system used in combat feels fairly advanced for such an old game.
During my playthrough, I only tried out the first two adventures, The Beginner's Cave and The Lair of the Minotaur. The layout of these dungeons was very simple, making combat the only real challenge, mostly due to low stats. I can see how the game could become more engaging as attributes are improved, but with the selection of other text adventures available, I'm not willing to invest the time needed to truly enjoy Eamon to its fullest potential.
Objective: Protect the astronauts, defeat the aliens, and avoid being shot!
How it Works: You control a ship in a scrolling 2D world. The ship is capable of moving vertically and thrusting forward. There is also a reverse button that changes the horizontal direction of the ship. A map in placed at the top of the screen to indicate the position of you, the aliens, and the astronauts.
The alien crafts will fly around the level attempting to shoot you down (they come in various degrees of aggressiveness). If left unattended, the aliens will also pick up an astronaut and carry him to the top of the screen. You must rescue these astronauts by shooting the alien (but not the man!), catching them, and returning them safely to the ground. If all the astronauts are abducted, the ground explodes and many aggressive aliens turn all attention to hunting you down.
In addition to your ship's main laser, you are also equipped with 3 smart bombs and hyperjump. The bombs instantly destroy all aliens on the screen, with more are awarded at target scores. The hyperjump button warps your ship to a random spot on the map, but with little regard to aliens in the area.
Thoughts: If that sounds like a lot going on, that's because it is. Aliens don't have to be on-screen to abduct the astronauts, so while you're focusing on one area, you're losing in another! On top of that, you have to avoid behind shot or colliding with the aliens. And don't forget to catch the man or he will explode! Defender is very hard. I can't make it past the third round due to all the new, hard to hit, aggressive aliens that spawn. That being said, the challenge is fun because you always feel that you can do better the next playthrough. I recommend trying this one out.
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