Anyone who has played games long enough has accumulated a ridiculous backlog of games to play. For me, the problem is tenfold due to my addiction to indie game bundles. This is a serious problem, and because of it I know have around 400 games on Steam, with an additional ~50 unique games on Desura (not counting duplicates), and even more DRM free games. I've finally decided that enough is enough, and that I need to actually get around to playing these games, so I figured I'd just write up short reviews of every bundle game I finish.

I don't think I'll be adhering to a strict (and frankly insane) schedule like our resident Fire Emblem: Seisen no Keifu superfan, but I'll try and toss up a blog every time I finish a couple games. And who knows, maybe I'll toss in other games that I've purchased, because I don't even remember where half of these games came from.

Today's Games Come From: Humble Bundle for Android 5

Solar 2

It's been a while since I've posted a blog on this site, but last time I was talking about games I was all about Xbox Live Indie Games. I still hold that there are dozens upon dozens of hidden gems in that dusty corner of the Xbox Marketplace, but I've mostly moved on from those neglected games. One game that I still hold quite fondly is Solar, a universe sandbox game that was really unique, and a straight up blast to play when I first checked it out. I was pumped to hear about its sequel, Solar 2, and immediately picked it up on my Xbox to then promptly never play it.

So imagine my surprise when Solar 2 showed up in the latest bundle from our favorite bundlers, Humble Bundle for Android 5. I tossed down a few coins just to have it on PC, and decided it was high time to give this game a shot. Now, this game is a lot like its precursor. The game's developer, Murudai, has outright stated that Solar was a "demo" for a lot of ideas that are fully fleshed out in the sequel, and that shows. But for those of you who are foreigners to the concept of "Solar," there's a lot of new and exciting stuff to see in Solar 2.

Solar 2 is a game that's simultaneously relaxing and palm-sweatingly tough. You essentially have free reign to do whatever you want starting out in the universe of Solar 2. When first jumping into the game, you control an asteroid which you can then slam into other asteroids to absorb them and become a planet. As a planet, you want to get asteroids caught in your gravitational field to absorb them, eventually evolving life and later transforming into a star. As a star, you want to absorb planets to grow, finally bringing you to a black hole, which trumps just about everything else in the universe.

That by itself is a pretty sweet little bit of content. It's fun to explore the universe with your bitchin' quad-star system and dozens of life-producing planets rotating around you, messing up aliens and bullying smaller star systems. But that's not all! The game has a pseudo "story mode," where you can do quests for a mysterious narrator. Doing these gives you a bit more purpose than just "do whatever you want," so it's nice to have a bit of variety. These quests can be tough as nails. They require precision, focus, and a fine-tuned control of the game's mechanics, so some of them can be a real challenge. They're not frustrating, but just tough enough to push you to your limits without being annoying.

Solar 2's got a lot going for it. A cool, open ended universe, some missions for a bit of variety, a great sense of atmosphere, and even a pretty good soundtrack. In total, the missions took me around three hours to finish up, so it's not too long of a game, but it was still a satisfying bit of content. I'm not sure if I could recommend it for the $10 asking price on Steam, but definitely keep an eye out for this one during sales (pro tip: the asking price on Xbox Live is only $5, and you get the same game).

Dynamite Jack

This game is basically stealth Bomberman. You play as an escaped miner who I assume is named Jack, and you blow stuff up, including people, wolves, and walls. That's pretty much the gist of Dynamite Jack, and it doesn't get to much more complex than that. It's a top down action puzzle game, where each level requires you to reach a glowing sphere, which I think represents your escape from these mines you've been confined to.

Each level has a detonator (your weapon), a flashlight, and a whole bunch of baddies, while later levels add scant new mechanics, such as keycards, switches to deactivate, and indestructible robot spiders. Thankfully, the game doesn't overstay its welcome. It clocks in at around 30 levels long, and it only took me around two and a half hours to blast through it. Dynamite Jack is a game that probably would have been better played on a mobile device, knocking out a couple levels in bed or on the bus. It's not a game with a whole lot of depth, and playing through it without stopping is really clear evidence of that.

Beyond this action packed puzzley gameplay, there's not a whole lot to say about the game. The presentation is enough, but it's not anything to write home about. I'm pretty sure I had fun at some points while playing this game, but it's not a spectacular game. It was just a decent distraction from that paper I was supposed to be writing, and it was nice to not have to invest too much in a game for a couple hours and just play something.