Super Heat Boy
By sweep 35 Comments
I'm on the last level of "THE END" which, ironically, is anything but. I'm having to negotiate a veritable course of circular saw blades being chased by an enraged phoetus doctor. Yep, super meat boy is one hell of a game.
Masocore is something which I occasionally inflict upon myself and Super Meat Boy fell at just the right moment. One cannot survive on a diet of cake alone, and it has been adequate time since my escapades with VVVVVV. It's a hard game to review because there really isn't much to it. It's perilously difficult, with a range of sadistic levels and a cracking soundtrack, but once that basic formula has been established it's a simple exercise in rinse and repeat. The level design is not particularly complex, it is not a game of puzzles - more of reactions and muscle memory.
I can't decide if this is good or bad.
I'm certainly having a lot of fun playing it, even if the Dark Worlds are driving me fucking insane. I think what really keeps me coming back is that I have several friends who also own the game and we are each slowly chipping away to see who can crack it first. I think i'm in the lead but Robster has hella more bandages than me. DaemonicGrim isn't really a threat as he primarily uses Gish. Good luck with that, buddy... It's getting to that time of year where the upcoming releases have been locked in and people start throwing out Game of The Year lists.
This entire process has been ridiculously convoluted and there is a very simple solution.
Having said that
The Indie game of the year yields much more heated and passionate discussion. With such quality titles as Limbo, Super Meat Boy, Shank, Amnesia, and not to mention fucking Minecraft, we have been spoilt for choice. Negotiations continue but Limbo looks to be the most promising. It might not be as balls-out entertaining as Super Meat Boy but it's design and polish has left a very lasting impression. I can't really argue Amnesia one way or the other, mainly because i'm too scared to keep playing it :'(Also, fuck minecraft.
I was thinking about Fable 3
Having listened to yesterdays bombcast and I contemplated returning to Albion while I still have the chance - but I have no interest in hunting for keys or Demon Doors. Instead I found myself slightly frustrated that I was not given sufficient incentive to return to the locations that I had frequented throughout my playthrough. There are choices towards the end of the game which can radically warp the terrain of Albions many colourful districts, but having completed the game, there is very little reason to then go and see them. It's also a little disappointing that, having chosen to be a kind and benevolent ruler, most of my positive moral decisions did absolutely fuck all. For example there is a point when you are given the option of dumping excess city waste into a swamp occupied by left-wing eco-warriors. My decision to... you know... not do that left the place unchanged, a boost for my moral standing (and a hit to my wallet) but also left me feelingly slightly deprived - I would have liked to see the swamp all toxic and fucked up, that would have been a lot more interesting to see and experience. Instead it stayed exactly the same as it was and I continue to have no desire to return there ever again.
There are also quite a lot of opportunities to pilfer money towards the end of the game, though why you would ever need to I have no idea. I had bought pretty much everything by the time I was halfway through the game, so most of the final decisions were pretty meaningless. I could simply opt for the good decision and take a minor financial hit every time. In retrospect I would have preferred the exclusion of buying and renting property in Albion. It's handled badly (raising and lowering rent, repairing, buying and selling must all be done for each building individually. When you own half a city that's a pain in the arse) and it's too easily exploited. I'm sure a lot of people simply bought a few buildings and then left their game idle for a few hours to accumulate some cash - undermining the effectiveness of your otherwise interesting end-game decisions.
My brother just bought me a copy of black ops which should arrive at some point over the next few days so i'm pretty hyped for that. It's been a while since I shot anything in a videogame, so it's nice to mix things up a bit.
Thanks For Reading
Love Sweep