“You’ve never played Braid??” Calm down voice of readers I pretend to have to help deal with the pain of four blogs and not one response. I played a ton of it when it was on 360, although I can’t recall if I finished it. This came with a Humble Bundle and I wanted to see if anything was different in the PC version…not that I have a solid memory of the 360 version. I remember loving it and the puzzles were amazing. The art style was fantastic. I’ve heard about the final twist of the game or one of the ways you can interpret the game but the story wasn’t really why I was enjoying it.
This might be one of the first of the backlog games that I try to finish before I finish writing about it. This is the first game in my backlog that came out a while ago. Braid was released in august of 2008. It was very unique when it came out. I’ll see how that holds up and how it compares to my memory of it.
Braid is still a bitch. It still looks amazing and is punishing. The puzzles push you to the end of your whits and then after a little time away the answer pops into your head and you feel amazing. So you load the game back up, finish that level and then slam your head against the wall on the next level. That is what I want from a puzzle game. If you haven’t tried this time traveling Mario game go out and get it. I played it with a 360 controller and it worked great.
The story is still heavy handed but it’s the story he wanted to tell. Jonathan Blow came up with these insane puzzles it only makes sense that the story he tells between those puzzles be a bit mad. I don’t really have a lot to add to this. I enjoy the puzzles and would recommend it to everyone who hasn’t tried it. The puzzles drove me bonkers but after they were solved most of that pain went away…most of it.
I played about four hours of Bit.Trip Beat, mostly because I can’t keep the mouse still and I had to play the same levels over and over again. I loved the 8 bit look and the music of beat so when I saw Bit.Trip Runner on sale for $2.50, It was an instant sale. I think this was during the winter steam sale, so I was buying up a lot on sale and this one just got pushed back. I know this is not like beat because you are controlling a guy and having him jump and what not. Beyond that I’m not sure. I hope music plays a major part in it.
It seems I’m as good at Runner as I was beat. I only played about a half hour of this game and was frustrated the whole time. I look and sound for this game is again amazing. I’m just bad at it. Your character is always running and your job is to jump, slide and kick. I’m not sure if there are more abilities because I wasn’t able to get past the second kick level. I failed a level many times, so it doesn’t appear you have lives. The game just rewinds (with a Braid achievement shout out) to the start of the level and you try again. Even in these starter levels I could have used a check point, maybe there are later in the game.
I started on normal difficulty. As you ran through the level your goal was to avoid holes in the ground and let’s call them crystal formations. You can collect gold pieces, if you collect them all I was treated to a Pitfall inspired bonus level. At first I feared the gold pieces because I go into every game with the X-Files motto ‘Trust No One’ but the game makes it clear gold is the one thing you can trust.
On World 1-4 (remember I didn’t get very far…don’t judge) I came to my first road block. There is a section where you have to triple jump and for some reason I couldn’t get the timing down. After a ton of restarts I would get it and then just screw up a basic jump later in the level and would go back to the start. After about 25 tries I decided to see what the easy difficulty was like.
When I changed the difficulty I couldn’t restart on level 1-4 I had to go back to the start. The only thing that appeared different to me was the removal of the gold coins. When I got to level 1-4 I was able to beat it on my first try. Maybe the game slowed down a little and I was able to get past the devil level. Or maybe the removal of the coins gave me one less thing to focus on and that was the right number of things my brain can focus on at one time. Sadly the next level introduced the kick feature and my brain was overwhelmed once more. After 20 tries on 1-6 I tipped my hat and said farewell to Bit.Trip Runner.
I enjoyed what I played I just wasn’t any good at it. Of course I should expect to pick up the game and excel right away. Games shouldn’t be easy but at this point replaying the same level hundreds of times isn’t what I’m looking for. I’m glad I own the game and can go back to it whenever I want. I would recommend this game to people. Right now the game is $9.99 on steam. I unlocked four achievements in30 minutes of playtime.
Picked this one up with one of the Humble Bundles, not sure which one though. Since it is installed I’m guessing it was the latest one. I tend to get most of the Humble Bundles because you can get five or six games for $6. A dollar a game is a great deal. Should I be paying more?? Of course I should!! So I keep a mental note and I will give to many charities when I become rich. Plus I always pay more than the average and then you get more games, which is why I have such a backlog.
Not really sure what to expect with this game. I think you control a person and the world moves around you as you guide it to the end of the level...maybe. (A lot of the installed games were bought last year in bundles, so for a couple I have no idea what to expect. I will make a note of what I think the game is before I play those games.)
I was pretty close. The look of the game is great. You play a black and white cut out in a world of taped together images. I got through the cave world and into the tree level. The cave level seemed a bit bland but created a great atmosphere. When you escape the cave and get into the trees the worlds are a lot more open. I wasn’t always sure where I should head next because the world is not so closed in.
The controls took about five minutes for me to get used to. I used a 360 controller and mapped left and right to X and B. For jump I switched between Y and A. I decided I liked having A as jump. I used left, right and down on the d-pad to move the camera. Moving the screen around was fun most of the time but I felt the point at which your guy dies varied. Sometimes I made a jump and a little bit after tried the same jump and he would burst into pieces.
Although I had fun with my time playing it, I’m not sure I will return to this one. The look was interesting but the controls didn’t hook me. I got stuck at a section and there wasn’t really a desire to see it through. There is a demo of it on steam I would say check it out if you like puzzles games. Not sure how long it is but its $10.
This one feels a lot like the first. You are falling to the ground at crazy speeds. On your way down you want to get as close to buildings as you can to get more points. You get a couple of power ups on your way down. One is a flip it glove that allows you to give a thumbs up (left mouse) to cheering fans and what they describe as a rude gesture (right mouse) to the non-fans. Once you get close to certain buildings you can click the control key to tag the building and get more points. I felt this was awkward and usually resulted in forgetting what direction I was heading and I would crash into something.
When you load up the game all the levels are presented to you. You can scroll to each one and get a description of each level. Most levels are locked when you started the game and you play the unlocked levels to gain “teeth” which are used to unlock other levels. I was able to play for 75 minutes before I ran out of the currency to unlock more levels. You are encouraged to go back to other levels to get a higher star rating and earn more “teeth”.
I bought this game during the New Years steam sale. I believe there was an achievement locked to it. I loved the first one so I didn’t think twice about getting this one. Don’t know why I didn’t load it up to get the achievement though. This game might not be for everyone because the sense of falling can become a little intense. At some points I felt like I was on a roller coaster. I think I will go back to this game to try and unlock the final levels. I really enjoyed this game and would recommend it if you enjoy amusement parks and can’t wait for them to open in the spring. The game is $10 on Steam but you can buy the Dejobaan Complete Collection for $20 and it includes 5 games.
Do you ever feel like you have nothing to play?? I do! Every time I log onto steam I see new games that I want to try out. Right now Pineapple Smash Crew and Dear Esther are calling out to me. I recently lost my job so clicking the buy button isn't an option but I still need something to play. So I’ve decide to go through my backlog and write about each game. This way I get to play games, that at some point I must have wanted to play, and work on my writing voice. This second part will be stressed when explaining to my wife why I’m not applying to jobs but playing games all day.
According to steam I have 201 games tied to my account. I’ve played 38 of those games. I can no longer say I have nothing to play. I own 163 I’ve never even tried, I don’t even want to think about my console backlog yet. So I have some extra time, I’ll try them, write about them and maybe someone will be bored enough to read along.
I was thinking I would start with my installed games. I have 44 games installed and I haven’t played 27 of them. I think I should play at least an hour of a game before moving on. Best case was spending two hours on each game. Games in my list I have less than two hours played I counted as never played. This seems like a good way to start clearing out my backlog and get back into writing.
I was thinking of just going down the list alphabetical. For each game I’ll try to remember when/why I bought it and how it just kinda got away from me. I’ll try to play two games a day and have a write up each night but let’s be honest…that will slip. Also PAX East is coming up so what better way to gear up for it then by playing games nonstop. Has anyone else out there done something like this?? What were your experiences?? Let me know!!!
My dear Giant Bomb community. I am but a simple Photoshop layman. I need your help to create a Poster for an upcoming event. Each year my friends get together for an event called Movie-a-Thon. We get together and spend the whole day watching movies in the theater. It started as a way for us to get together when we were all off at college and now that we've graduated we keep going for fun. Anyway each year I try to come up with funnier way to invite people. Last year I made save the date magnets. This year I would like to create a movie poster to mail to people.
This is where I need your help. The first image is what I came up with. I wanted it to look something like the Second Image. I am looking for you to use movie posters from Daybreakers, Munich, Black Swan, The Good Shepard, Sweeny Todd (Johnny Depp Version) and The Producers to form the seven. You can use one blank spot of a Question Mark (we missed one movie-a-thon and it's been a running joke that we've been trying to figure out what happened to it), The caption above the seven can read "Movies: Impossible - The Girl with the Film Reel Tattoo" Then under the seven "Movie-a-Thon January 14th, 2012" You can use just a plain background and please at the bottom put created by, or a symbol you like to use for your work.
The winner will recieve a copy of Renegade Ops on steam, A copy of the Poster and my eternal gratitude. If you have any questions please PM me. Please pm me the final image or just post them in the thread. Please have all submissions in a week or two. Thanks to anyone who is willing to help me. Good luck and have Batman
I just want to take a minute, you can sit right there, I'll tell you all about a site called Giant Bomb.
Kinda works not really. I love Giant BOmb. I've loved it for years but I've been afriad to say it. Tonight, after a few liquid courage drinks, I can say it. I've been watching, reading and listening since day one. This year I was able to go to PAX and experience the bombcast live. It was everything I hoped it would be. I brought three friends with me, who didn't frequent the site, and they loved it and now check out the site daily. This is mostly just a THANK YOU to everyone that makes Giant Bomb possible.
Here is a link to the story: http://kotaku.com/#!5770817/for-the-love-of-the-game-a-visit-to-the-american-classic-arcade-museum
So I worked at Funspot, where the Museum is located for a summer two years before they started it. Since I was a new employee I mostly worked on the third floor, which is now the Museum. I spent six to ten hour shifts walking up and down those aisle, listening to the sounds that 200 cabinets make to get the attension of passers by. I'll admit I was a very shitty employee, most of my time was spent playing APB, instead of paying attention to customers.
It's really weird to see a story that paints Funspot in a positive light. Growing up in Laconia I went there twice a month or so to play APB, Daytona and go bowling with friends. It's what you do when you grow up in a small that is only alive during the summer, when it's filled with annoying tourists. When I left for college I met kids that talked about how once they went to Funspot and how amazing it was. Rows and rows of games. I would shake my head at them and tell them the evils of working there. I'm glad they have decided to take care of those games on the third floor, when I worked there a lot of them were going to hell.
I plan on writing a longer post about my experiences at Funspot but I just wanted to throw some thoughts out there. Like the guy they interview in that story, Gary, he fired me. I deserved it...I kinda stopped going to work but still. Anyway I'm excited to see what they bring to PAX East. I check out the area they were in last year and it was a nice little flash back.
The trailer came out today. I have heard nothing but good things about it. I've avoided it. Not really sure why yet. I think it's because Bethesda has a booth at PAX and I'm sure they will be showing it off. My friends and I are hoping for a demo to be shown off. We doubt it will be playable but maybe some devs will show it off every couple of hours like Twisted Pixel showed off Comic Jumper last year.
Valve also has a booth in the Expo Hall. I'm really hoping for a Portal 2 demo. That is something I am willing to stand in line for hours to try...and I'm sure I will have to stand in line for a decent amount to try that out. I can't think of what else I want to see there. The 3DS would be sweet but I'm not getting my hopes up in case it isn't there. A part of me wants to not think about what will be there so I won't be disappointed. Go in there and be surprised as I pass each booth.
Lately I haven't been a fan of watching trailers on my computer, for some reason I like to wait and see them in the theater. This is a shift because I used to search for any preview I could see. Many hours were spent scanning Quicktime Trailers for anything new. Maybe this is why I'm not in a rush to see the Skyrim trailer. Does seeing it at PAX double as seeing it in the theater?? The AMC down the street from me offers Four dollar movies on the weekend before noon. So I've been seeing a lot of movies in the theaters lately. Most movies, in my opinion, are worth seeing for Four dollars.
Anyway still getting pumped for PAX East. This in my 20th blog. YAY quests.
Now that the schedule is out, my excitement for PAX East is getting out of control.
Major Nelson is hosting a meeting on Friday morning that I hope to get to. It is a block from my hotel so it will be easier to get to then last years, that was at MIT across the Charles. I talked to some people that went to the meetup last year and they said hardly anyone was there and everyone was really nice. I've been listening to his podcast for awhile so it would be nice to talk to the people who I listen to each week.
The Giant Bomb panel is the one I'm looking forward to most. I was sad they didn't have one last year but I think a lot of people were wondering how successful a East Coast Pax would be. I'm glad it was a hit and everyone is coming this time.
The Twisted Pixel Variety Hour is another Must see. I've loved each of their games and hope their new Kinect game will be shown off.
Last year i entered the Peggle tournament and came in second place. It is my go to time killer since I have it on my iPhone, iPod, PC and 360. I want to enter it again this year but it is during the World Exclusive Demo of "Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning". After seeing the teaser trailer last year I've been excited for this game. I really don't know which I would rather do. If the demo is playable there, which i doubt it will be, then missing the panel would be ok. Also the die hard Red Sox fan in me doesn't want to miss a chance to see Curt Schilling talk about his upcoming game. I think this will be a last minute decision.
I've only skimmed the schedule a few times looking to see what there is this year. I hope to print it out and look more closely this week. Anyway they released the floor plan of the Expo Hall and three of the showcase games today. Its going to be a long three weeks till PAX!!!
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