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This post is from one of several previous incarnations of this site and probably doesn’t quite fit the current format. In a former life this was a group blog and a tumblelog before it became a static jekyll site. If anything looks broken or is worded oddly that could be why. Pardon the dust.
Bigger isn't always better
After the end of an incredible year for triple-A console titles we now find ourselves in a post-Christmas lull. There’s a sour taste in our mouths from the few hopefuls who closed out the year with a rush to market in search of easy xmas dollahs (pointing no fingers). So what can be done to sweeten our palate? Well I don’t know about you, but I’m seeing more and more promise in the lands of the portable, the web-based and the independent.
Let me enumerate the ways. First, three games I’ve played:
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Professor Layton and the Curious Village
Ghibli-esque DS puzzle adventure in which Professor Layton and his boy apprentice solve the problems of the curious villagers and unravel their mysteries through a series of varied and perfectly-pitched puzzles. This thing is an instant classic, very charming and totally engaging throughout. It’s also masterfully paced with each tiny piece of exposition being carefully interleaved between slices of puzzling gameplay and exploration.
My only gripe would be that it’s a shame when they set games up with sequels and franchising in mind at the start. Obviously it’s a perfect fit, and it’s nice to know there’s more on its way, but the quality can only diminish when there’s a built in formula. Hopefully this one will hold up a bit better where lesser games (Pheonix Wright?) might begin to wilt.
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NSFW web-based game in the form of an internet mirror-world parodying the worst of net archetypes and bad behaviour. Mechanically, gameplay takes the form of a turn-based combat RPG with character classes of Camwhore, Emo & Troll. But the outer shell feels like something new, with combat wearing the guise of forum flamewars, and NPC interaction performed via in-game IM. Its closest relative is probably Kingdom of Loathing and it sometimes brings to mind parody tabletop RPGs like Greg Costikyan’s Paranoia, but the slick interface and clever matching of medium and message create something fresh. Andy Baio has just done an interview with lead developer Robin Ward.
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Physics-y platformer with a mean difficulty curve, previously found success online as a flash game, now ported to XBLA. It’s been tarted up with additional content, multiplayer and a built-in level editor. Incredibly addictive and incredibly difficult in equal measure, it didn’t take long for me to rack up the “Practice Makes Perfect” achievement for dying 1000 times. Everything about it tells you that it was made by good, honest, indie gamers. From the old school die-and-try-again play ethic to the minimal anti-glitz look and feel. One more go?
Followed by three I can only admire from afar:
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A sprinkling of Paper Mario’s dimension-twisting mixed into a smattering of Cave Story’s engrishly narrated pixel-art. The 2D platformer gains a 3rd dimension when you rotate a level, only to be flattened back down into 2 dimensions when the spinning stops. Best to watch a video to understand the head-scratching gameplay potential that enables. Also has siblings in Echochrome and Crush.
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Painterly platformer due to arrive on XBLA sometime soon. I don’t know much about this one yet but the graphics look lovely and I understand there’s some time-rewinding action involved a-la Prince of Persia: Sands of Time.
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Everyone seems to be talking about this one at the moment, which only makes me more eager to try it (PC only). By the looks of it, it’s a block-matching puzzle set on a Wipeout-style race track with the twist being that the tracks are generated by music you play from your collection. I have to say I’m a little skeptical of this one. Vib Ribbin on the Playstation had a similar option and it was never as satisfying as the default tracks.