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Phantom Abyss (PC) by jp (Apr 6th, 2025 at 19:14:27) |
I'd heard of the game's hook (or gimmick if you will) as, everyday it's a different 1st person platforming game/run, and if you die - that's it. Play a different run later.
I'm guessing stuff changed along the way, though the concept is still here - it's a reasonably challenging rogue-like 1st person platforming game. I've had fun, you have a whip to help you climb and each level has different modifiers (the whip has an ability) and you can pick up boons in your run (if you have enough coins to afford them) and hopefully make it to the end. BUT, you see a bunch of ghosts for everyone else who played this level - if someone died, you can collect their spirit or something for a small heal! During each run you collect keys you can use to buy permanent upgrades, and so you go up the progression ladder of many roguelites...
Someone described this as first person temple run, which is close enough? I mean, the levels themselves are a lot more interesting than the "mere" reaction times that temple run goes for, here you can side-step/etc. stuff - and there are different paths, and in all you can be a bit creative for how you approach stuff...I've had fun so far - unlocked all the green levels and I've started on the blue ones!
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Cuphead (Switch) by jp (Apr 6th, 2025 at 13:37:03) |
I only get to play this when my son comes around - and we play together and I realized, yeah - I need to either start practicing seriously or just give up. And, I enjoy playing it co-op, so there's not much sense in practicing, so I decided to give up.
We did make it to the 2nd island(?), and played some of the levels there - but I was clearly starting to see a steeper path to success. As in, it too us (mostly my fault) more and more tries to make less progress. He's already played it, beat it too? So, not much point for him really.
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Sonic Rush (DS) by jp (Apr 6th, 2025 at 13:34:08) |
I started playing this from the saved game - with new(?) character Blaze on "area 2" (I don't remember the exact name). And, I just could not beat the level - it was set in the casino world, and everything was moving super fast and on "automatic" - so, you just press move and the character zips along, bounces, etc.
It's actually quite boring! Because you just do this, at some point you hit an enemy (very few enemies in the game!), lose your rings, and then carry on. But, I'd lose because I'd fall into a bottomless pit, lose three lives and then out.
I'd say it wasn't so much frustrating as it was a disappointment. Yes, the point of Sonic is that it's "fast" - that's it's thing. But I find that there's little interaction to the game for most of the levels - you just "go along with the direction". It's neat when sometimes you get bounced around automatically, but for the most part I like to control the character.
So, I deleted the save file and started a new one, this time with Sonic in the equivalent of green hill zone. This level has two areas and then a boss. So, it's like 3 levels make up a level.
And, the experience was pretty similar - run on automatic for a while, lose rings suddenly or die, repeat with a bit more caution...etc. I did make it all the way to the boss fight - which I almost beat one too many times, and I just realized - ok, this is dumb - at least the boss fights have more gameplay ( you dodge, make an attack when the weak spot is open, etc.) - but it's still a pretty boring/uninteresting platforming experience.
So, off to the shelf it goes!
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Secret Files: Tunguska (DS) by jp (Apr 4th, 2025 at 19:16:25) |
I think there's a weird moment in time when everyone thought that point-and-click style adventure games were dead, but they were not. And, I think this game is an example of a game that was under the radar of "mainstream" games press at the time? Or at least under the radar of the average consumer of videogames...
This particular game is also a strange little time capsule - it's a port of what I think was a PC game...also at a time when people where porting all kinds of things to the DS. And, it works! Well, from a UI perspective at least. And it works pretty well. At least compared to another adventure game I played recently on the DS whose name I'm blanking on as I write this. I bounced on that one because it had some character/3D interactions that were awkward and unintuitive. Here, they were much smarter about it (I'm assuming they made UI "concessions" because it's on the DS). So, while you have a 3D character that navigates a static space - you don't actually have to move the character around directly in order to interact with objects/places in each scene. Press one button and all the interactive spots highlight, and you can just tap on them directly. I LOVE this solution - especially because I was never a fun of the "hunt for the pixel" approach that many games had (on PC) - and I'm super glad it didn't come across into this DS version (for all I know, the "here's all the highlights" was also possible on PC).
But, the UI triumph aside, I still kind of bounced off this. I got stuck on a puzzle (how typical!) - and what I had to do was leave a location to visit another location and then continued...this seemed really "unfair" to me - as in, unintuitive - mostly because I had assumed I could not leave the locatio in the first place. It wasn't entirely unintuitive - but it was the sort of puzzle where I was sure I should be able to (in this case) get the key out of the aquarium - but it turns out that no, I had to leave the place, do some other stuff, and then come back. At this point I was well into the tried-and-true "try all the things with all the things", except that I did not know I could leave the location I was at. Sigh.
So, from glancing at my list of DS games I still need to play...well, I wasn't THAT interested in the story so far and the puzzles didn't feel particularly interesting either..so, it was an easy game to put on the shelf.
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Shogun Showdown (PC) by dkirschner (Apr 4th, 2025 at 18:33:00) |
Clever little tactics roguelite. It reminds me of Into the Breach and other tactics games where you are given clear information about what enemies will do each turn. It's also reminiscent of Into the Breach because of the small play space. Basically, the game takes place on a 2d plane that is divided into like 8 or 9 spaces. Any given character occupies 1 space and can move left or right. You build a "deck" of "tiles" that include attacks and other special abilities, many of which involve movement (e.g., a forward dash that moves to the nearest frontal enemy and deals 1 damage). Your goal is to build up your tiles and progress stage by stage until you kill the Shogun.
During each run, you can purchase and upgrade tiles, mostly increasing their damage or decreasing their cooldowns, purchase passive abilities, use items, and other standard roguelite stuff--make yourself stronger by strategically handling whatever random things you get.
Most every action you do takes a turn, and all characters take turns at the same time. So, you move right (1 turn) and all the enemies do a thing (one might move left toward you, one might queue up an attack). Then you queue up an attack, and those two enemies might queue up an attack and attack, respectively. Actually, it also reminds me of Crypt of the Necrodancer, which works like this, where all characters act simultaneously. In that game, when you move, everything else moves. Shogun Showdown is like that. When you do something, the enemies do something.
I beat the Shogun for the first time this evening, which was maybe my fifth run or so. I had what felt like extremely overpowered weapons, a sword that I'd leveled up to deal 5 damage with only a 2-turn cooldown. I also had a bow-and-arrow with 4 damage and a 3-turn cooldown. The kicker though was a curse that doubled the next damage on an enemy. So, I'd just queue the curse, the sword, and the arrow. That took literally half the Shogun's health bar. Did it again, dead and into phase 2. No problem. Did it two more times. Dead. Easy. When you beat the Shogun, you unlock "day 2", which is the next difficulty level. You can also unlock additional characters with different skills, and you can keep unlocking new tiles and stuff. I consider it beat after taking out the Shogun once. It's a fun game, really tight, and makes you think ahead. It doesn't do much that you haven't seen before though.
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they are currently playing. A GameLog is basically a record of a game you started playing. If it's open,
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if you got bored, frustrated,etc.) You can also attach short comments to each of your games or even maintain a diary (with more detailed entries)
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2285 registered gamers and 3255 games. 7787 GameLogs with 13264 journal entries. 5110 games are currently being played.
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most recent entry: Monday 21 January, 2008
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SUMMARY:
Wii Pay is a simple collection of mini-games that introduce players to the Wii remote’s unique infer red (IR) and motion controls. Players go through a variety of differently themed mini games that will have players doing everything from shooting targets, to playing table tennis and even to racing cows, at some point in the game.
GAMEPLAY:
Wii Play starts with only one mini game: “Shooting Rangeâ€. In this mini-game, players find themselves shooting a variety of objects, both animate and inanimate, in an attempt to achieve the highest score. By pointing at the screen and pressing A to shoot, this control scheme both simple and intuitive. In an age where shooters seem to emphasize complexity, it is certainly a pleasant surprise to see a step in a different direction. In fact, this single mini-game set the tone for the entire game – that is, that this game would be a simple and intuitive one.
At the end of “Shooting Rangeâ€, I was told that I unlocked the next mini game, “Find Miiâ€. This time, my objective was to find a specified character in a crowded area by pointing at that character on the screen and selecting him or her with A. In fact, four other mini-games are based on this same idea of pointing at the screen, making more than half of the mini-games IR based. At times, it can be frustrating to see so many mini-games controlled in this way – especially for a product that advertises itself as an introduction to the Wii’s controller, a motion based one.
However, to say that all the IR-based mini-games feel the same is simply untrue. True, the foundation of their controls is the same but their objectives and themes vary greatly. Some of these IR games will have the player bombing walls and shooting other tanks, some games will have players twisting their wrist to match silhouettes. The objective of each game is certainly very similar as “get the highest score†easily summarizes the goal of all the mini-games, but the way in which the player goes about this goal varies from game to game. This helps in keeping each mini-game feeling fresh and unique, even if their controls are not.
It is also worth nothing that Wii Play lacks an overarching story to connect its mini-games. This is very rare for a video game – even ones that are comprised mostly of mini-games. Rayman Raving Rabbids revolves around the idea of escaping from a prison controlled by “rabbids†and the Mario Party series has a game board in between mini-games to tell that game board’s specific story. Even Wario Ware: Smooth Moves which tries to be as zany and off-the-wall as humanly possible, has an overarching theme: make money. The lack of a story in Wii Play will leave players asking, why should wii play?
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GAMPLAY:
Surprisingly, even without a story, the game does show progression. Players unlock a new mini-game with each successive mini-game played. This will make up the first hour of play. However, for my second play there was nothing left to unlock and after having played every mini-game once, revisiting this game felt like a chore. Players are expected to replay mini-games to achieve the highest score but the problem is that so many of these mini-games are shallow and uninteresting. There is a serious flaw in the reward system in Wii Play. Oh, and about leader boards, they don’t exist for this game. Are you even serious about online games, Nintendo?
Even after all that I have said, I still recommend this game. The reason for this: its social aspect. The bright colors and unique appeal of the Wii remote is sure to draw in a crowd. The shallow, and sometimes slow-paced mini-games will not totally consume the concentration of the players and allow them to talk among themselves. The lounge-music Wii Play theme song is sure to brighten any living room and the bubbly soundtrack of the entire game is sure to draw a crowd and melt the heart of even the most hardcore gamer.
DESIGN:
I am almost tempted to call this game “Mii Play†because that title would certainly highlight on the better aspects of this game: the use of Miis, that Wii’s digital avatars. I admit that I am no artist but using the Wii’s Mii creation channel, I was able to create a variety of avatars which I would later revisit in Wii Play. It was hard choosing between playing the game with an avatar that looked like me or one that looked like a tooth fairy, a fortune teller, or a new year’s baby. The designers certainly thought of this problem beforehand. Even though I chose to play as a fortune teller, I saw these characters in the audience of a table tennis match. Trying to find out person that fell asleep in the “Find Mii†minigame? Maybe it will be Sean Connery – if you can create one. It is this customization that makes Wii Play so charming and it continues to draw me back to this game.
There is so much that is innovative about the Wii Remote. Yes, IR controls are one of these innovations but this is not the only one. For a game that is meant to showcase the possibilities of the Wii remote, the fact that Wii Play focuses heavily on IR controls and not motion controls is certainly a let down. Instead of this game, players can play Wario Ware: Smooth Moves and other games which show that motion controls are can be both unique and varied. True, there are three games mini-games in Wii Play that are motioned controlled but it’s certainly nothing novel when compared to other wii games.
Nonetheless, Wii Play’s mini-games are shallow but fun in small bursts. This game will also help you draw a crowd together on those lonely days and you’ll never get over this game’s charm. Did I mention that it’s only 10 dollars when you factor in the bundled controller?
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