$3 is a No-Brainer

I have purchased my first-ever micro game. Expect more of these in the next while, hopefully all with as simple a way to buy in.

The game is Windosill, a very simple Ambient Point-And-Click Puzzler. Describing the game is difficult. Each scene is a window into a strange world. The window sill has a block car and a locked door. You have to find the cube that unlocks the door so you can get the car to the next window.

There is lots of stuff to click on. Sometimes you have to solve a small puzzle to get the cube, sometimes not. Mostly it's just fun to interact with everything to see what it does.

The first half of the game is free. And it's a great hook. You get to the middle and the game asks you for an activation code to continue. The code is $3. I had that sitting in my PayPal account, chances are you might too. So I paid.

I'd do it again too. Even though the game is short, and doesn't have much for replay, the price was right. At $3 and under it becomes an impulse buy. Like a chocolate bar or bag of chips at the gorcery store checkout, it's not something that you need but it is something easy to pick up with a cheap enough pricetag that it takes almost no justification.

You just buy it.

What's Your Rush?

I just played Blurst's newest release: Paper Moon. Go ahead, have a go, it's free. It's a very basic platformer. The twist is that you can pop select pieces of the scenery in and out. These bits are either behind, on level with, or in front of the scene.

This means that jumping puzzles can have an added element where you have to jump and then pop the next platform into place. The neat part comes when enemies start showing up. You can pop scenery in to bump the baddies out. bump them forward and they fly at the screen with a satisfying Bop! Be careful not to do it to yourself though.

Not that death really hurts. The game has no lives. You spend most of the time collecting fruit and navigating the simple areas. There are some physics puzzles, but they didn't seem too complicated. Being bumped off screen, touching baddies, or falling into bottomless pits makes you respawn at the last checkpoint you passed. These are fairly frequent, so any setback is minor.

The issue I have with the game is the completely unnecessary timer which results in Game Over when it runs out. There really isn't any story to the game (it's losely inspired by the song "It's Only a Paper Moon") so I don't know what the motivation to hurry is. I'd rather spend my time exploring and collecting fruit. And dying, I do that a lot.

Why are you making me hurry through your game? I want to play it again because I want to see more of it. But I also probably won't because my skill level means that I probably won't see that much more of it anyway.

This could have been a wonderful casual platformer with a slick graphics and a nice gameplay twist. I could have killed a couple of hours on it exploring every nook and cranny. As much content as you put into it, I would have searched out. But instead you timed me and only got my 5 minutes. It was only a paper moon.

Five (Short) Games You Should Play Before the Year Ends

There has been a lot said on these games already. I'm pretty sure I won't be able to add anything new, so I won't bother including my review. There's a short description, so at least you know what you're getting into. Most of these have great audio, so turn up your speakers. Have fun!

You Have to Burn the Rope (Flash - Kongregate)
I think you can figure out what to do. Stay for the song at the end.

Auditorium (Flash)
A puzzle game fusion of light and sound. The game is still in development, so there are only 15 levels available. Bend the flow of particles and try to fill the audio bars. The music builds as you succeed.

Aether (Flash - Armor Games)
Explore the solar system. Use the sticky tounge of the beast to swing from clouds and asteroids. Fling yourself to other planets. See great things. Bring colour back to the people you meet.

I Wish I were the Moon (Flash - Kongregate)
Take pictures to re-arrange the members of this strange love triangle. Try to find all the endings (7 plus a secret one).

Night of the Cephalopods (Windows)
A simple survival horror game with a Lovecraftian narration that works to set the tone of the game as you play.

Monday Report [July 21-27]

Flash Games
You Don't Know Jack, Episodes 82 & 83

7 minutes, each

More Jack. It's an addiction by now. Or at least a bad habit.

Wii
Wii Fit

Less time than I should have

It's starting to worry me that only a couple of weeks in and I'm starting to lose the will to workout. Or even to do the daily body test. Must keep it up. I need to find a better time to work it into my schedule.

LEGO Indiana Jones
A whole lot (I lost count)
Morgan and I finished the game, 100%, in co-op. A full review is pending. There is about 20-30 hours of playable content there, and we did all of it. There are a few quibbles, but it was a fun romp, and easy to play. I'd recommend it to people who are fans of the recent LEGO games, or of Indiana Jones, or who have a non-gamer that they want to play some games with.

Monday Report [July 7-13]

Wii Games
Wii Fit

1.5 hours

Bought this on Friday. So far have used it three days. I don't really have much to say about it. The quality of the balance board itself is good. It feels solid and sturdy. The "game" itself is well designed and has a pleasing aesthetic. I wanted to get it as a motivational tool to working out and tracking my weight. I don't have the time or money to spend on a gym membership, but I don't have the motivation by myself to research, design, and maintain a workout regimen. Hopefully Wii Fit will provide a source of direction and motivation as it tracks my progress.

PC Games
Beyond Good & Evil (via GameTap)

2.5 hours

The second assignment hasn't been posted yet. Although I figure that it will be somewhere after the second mission (the one in the Nutripils Factory). So I played some of the side-stuff, collected a few more pearls, and had the game crash every time I tried to go into something called "Vorax's Cave". I'll have to look into that. I'm part way into the mission, and taking my time to collect all the extra animals and pearls I can.

Flash Games
You Don't Know Jack, Episodes 78 & 79

7 minutes, each

This week brought back a personal favourite type of Jack moment. It's called the Bring Back. Or rather, the lead-in and follow-up. The full games did this sometimes, and The Netshow used it extensively. It's where it'll set something up, a joke or a clue to another question, and then follow through. Appropriately mocking if you failed to listen to the advice given. Monday's show was the lead-in and Friday's had the follow-up on the last question.


Totem Destroyer

30 minutes (complete)

This is a fun little physics game. You have to remove block from the (often unstable) towers while trying not to drop the golden idol on the ground. Challenging, but not too hard. I on;y got stuck on one level until I started to really pay attention to how the tower was swaying. The game's graphic design is simple and elegant, staying out of the way for the gameplay. the music also works nicely with the theme and doesn't manage to get too annoying. I'd recommend playing through. Also, the game has achievements. While some of these are just for filler (play for X amount of time) some do provide a sense of fulfillment.

Open Doors

30 minutes (incomplete)

This is an interesting game about movement. Draw as a blueprint, this game has you moving around a grid trying to get to the exit space. Doors are in your way, and are designed to only operate in certain directions. You can push doors open only certain ways and passing through an open door will close it behind you. I'm pretty sure that I was playing mostly on intuition. Eventually I got stuck and frustrated, maybe you can do better.

Real Games
Arkham Horror

About 3 hours

If you play board games at all seriously, there is a good chance you have heard of Fantasy Flight Games. They make the World of Warcraft, StarCraft, and upcoming Gears of War board games. They make games with ridiculous numbers of pieces and whole buckets full of miniatures. Arkham Horror is based on Call of Cthulhu, and the whole Lovecraft Mythos in general. Played over several hours, the game is a cooperative effort as the investigators (from 1 to 8 players) try to stop a Great Old One from awakening and killing them (and everyone else). This is not an easy game. Lots of bad things can happen, and you only have a short time to stop it.

This was my first time playing it, and I had a blast. There were four of us, and only one (the game owner) had actually played before. Fortunately the rest of us were familiar with many of the game conventions used in Arkham Horror, so we were able to pick it up easily. Part RPG, part miniature-style combat, and part open-path board game; you pick a character, get some stuff, and start wandering Arkham trying to close gates to other dimensions and killing (or evading) the monsters that emerge from them.

We all died. We were unable to seal any of the gates and prevent them from re-opening. This meant that we were constantly moving towards awakening the Old One and our doom. He woke up and promptly devoured us all. It is the most fun I've ever had losing a game. It's not like you go in expecting to come out whole: it is a Cthulhu game after all. I can't wait to play this again (maybe with expansions) and I hope to get it for myself.

Monday Report [July 1-6]

PC Games
Beyond Good & Evil (GameTap)

2.5 Hours

Played the first section needed for the Game Club. I forgot how relaxed this game is, or at least starts. There are action-y sections, and the hovercraft races for those adrenaline moments. Mostly it's just exploring interesting locations, and taking pictures of the wildlife. This goes well for me because I like to take my time and methodically explore everywhere I can. The map works well for this, showing you where you haven't been by shading it slightly. The controls for the fighting are pretty simple, and let you (mostly) just button mash for some butt-kicking action. I'll post some more thoughts tomorrow.

Flash Games
You Don't Know Jack, Episodes 75, 76, and 77

7 minutes each

Had to play a bit of catch-up. Did pretty well on all three.

Monday Report [June 23-30]

Wii
Super Mario Galaxy

2 Hours

4 more stars. I only have to beat Luigi's Purple Coins. I've tried a couple times now and it keeps kicking my ass. That is a seriously evil level.

Flash Games
You Don't Know Jack, Episode 74
7 Minutes 
No one has quite managed to keep to the rigors of an episodic game release schedule like Jellyvision. They are just so regular.

SEEK (ver.0)

5 minutes

This is another game concept, lab, toy thing from EYEMAZE. If that name doesn't ring any bells, then how about GROW? Yeah, you've probably heard of those games. If not, go play them now! SEEK (ver.0) is another attempt with alternate game styles. This time it's a match-hunting puzzle game. Using some familiar graphics and sounds, it manages to be both very easy to understand and very challenging. Even the time limit is handled well, and adds to the difficulty, as the letter itself moves across the screen to fall and crush one of your hearts.

Meat Space Games
Carcassonne
about 30 minutes (4 players)
Went to a friend's grandparent's cabin this weekend. Took a whole bunch of games. Wound up only playing a couple. This was one. Played with the Inns & Cathedrals and River I expansions. I like the river expansion(s) because I find they lead to a more spread out and even map. I like playing with at least the Inns & Cathedrals because it adds a little complexity to the game without being overbearing. We played this one kinda drunk. I managed to come from behind with farms.

The Good, the Bad, and the Munchkin
about 60 minutes (4 players)
It was a long weekend (for us anyway, because of Canada Day landing on the Tuesday), so I'm including Monday at the lake as part of this update. We played a great game. All of us we at level 9 by the end, with the winner having come from behind. We also were down to a single door card left. This is a rare treat, getting to see most of the deck get played.

Shadowrun

Most of the Weekend

We didn't actually get to play this. Our particular group of friends has been talking about Role-playing together for, well, a long time. We keep getting hung up on the actual starting. We're not sure which system to get, we never actually get one, and we don't know who should GM (none of us has). So my friend Chris finally picked up a source book. I've been picked as GM, which I don't mind. I spent most of the weekend frantically reading through the rules trying to understand character creation, and the basic gameplay elements. Characters are mostly done, and because we are using the free Shadowrun Missions we have the first campaign all set. Mostly. I'm going to pick up my own copy of the source book sometime this week. Hopefully I keep focus.

*Updated, and expanded on July 1, after returning to civilization*

Monday Report [June 16 - 22]

Wii
Super Mario Galaxy
1 hour
2 more hard won stars. I'm ready to be done with this.

Flash Games
You Don't Know Jack, Episodes 72 & 73
7 minutes each
There is a rumour that YDKJ might be coming to the Wii. I can only hope.

Monday Report [June 9-15]

Wii
Super Mario Galaxy
4 hours, total
4 stars on Monday. 2 more on Tuesday. 2 more on Friday. I like it better when the purple coin levels are ones of exploration rather than arbitrary challenges. A few of them have just been 100 coins, scattered about the galaxy. The challenge is to find and get to them all. This pushes to you explore more than you may have before, and use all the tricks the game as taught you up to this point. They are also far less frustrating that some of the arbitrary challenges that you have to face in other levels (usually). The Battlerock's Purple Coins was particularly annoying: collect all the coins while this platform moves you through the level. Do it perfect, or fail.

Xbox 360
I don't actually own one of these. However, I have good friends that do. I was lucky enough this week to get to putz around on theirs, check out and play some favourite arcade games, and even have my choice of full games. Here's what I played:

Frogger 2 (demo)
Whole demo (15 minutes, including distractions)
Guh. I played this mostly because their son (not quite 2) was interested. We gave him the controller for a little while. He's starting to put stick-waggling and button-pressing together with what's going on screen. Mostly he just drowned Frogger. Mostly I wanted to, too. This game is insipid and annoying. It has all the repetitive fun you remember tarted up with a storyline (involving a crash-landed alien), garish graphics, and the most annoying synthesized sound effects you will ever hear. The sound played every time Frogger hops forward will make you want to tear you speakers from the wall. Just don't buy it.

Aces of the Galaxy (demo)
Solo, Easy, 2 Demo Levels
Not a bad little shooter. I managed to survive the two levels the demo allows (on easy) and get a semi-respectable rating. It certainly has shiny graphics, lots of projectiles, and a fair number of abilities and weapons. The timeshift ability is rather interesting and can be used to effectively get you out of a tight spot. It also has a rather banal and poorly written story; I'm not sure why they even bother sometimes. It's not like most of the players care. Oh, and when did Inverted Y-axis not become standard. I had to turn it on before I could play, but maybe I'm just old school. It's not really my kind of game (I suck at aiming at things), but it might be interesting for a while.

Penny Arcade Adventures: On the Rain-Slick Precipice of Darkness, Episode One (demo)
Whole demo
Is it bad that I love that title? Yes, it's pretentious. I'm pretty sure that's the point; the whole damn game is that way. This is actually the second time I've played the demo. I downloaded the PC version the same week it came out. I played it again mostly so I could show my wife, and check out how the combat worked on the controller. It is slightly less broken than on the PC, but not enough to count. There are simply too many button-presses/mouse-clicks to get from a ready attack to actually hitting an enemy. It's frustrating and distracting. The rest of the game is filled with awesome: attention to every minuscule detail, Penny Arcade Humour (which some love, and some can't stand -- I could do without the Fruit F***er), and circumlocution. Bring a dictionary.

Carcassonne
2 Rounds (won 1, lost 1)
I'm a fan of the board game, and will readily get it out to play. It fact, I consider it a great gateway game for those whose passing acquaintance with board games encompass Monopoly, Sorry, and Life. The Live Arcade version of the game has a couple advantages the board game does not: you don't have to manually score anything, and you can play by yourself. However, I still prefer the physical edition. I find that keeping track of complex strategies, including farms and hostile takeovers, is harder to do with the graphic distraction the video version provides. You also can't play 6 players, and they have yet to release some of the more interesting expansions. It's a great adaption of the game, and good for scratching that board game itch, but still not as good as the real thing. Oh, this is also not my first (or, likely, last) time playing the Live Arcade version.

N+
About 5 minutes
This was my second time with the game, the first being about an hour of co-op with my friend the night he bought it. I'm fairly convinced that the game creators secretly hate me. This game is the epitome of hardcore, and I would only recommend it to the most masochistic of players. I simply don't have the patients, control, or coordination to do well at it. I got frustrated with it after a few minutes and moved on.

Mass Effect
1.5 Hours
I've wanted to play this since I first heard about it. I still do, only problem is that I don't own an Xbox 360 (or a PC it won't cripple). Despite the fact that I probably won't get much chance to play it, or truly enjoy it, until I get my own copy I decided to start it anyway. I went through the character creation and played the first mission. There are a few things I'd like to say: Wow, that game looks beautiful! Where the hell is the tutorial? Why do all of the aliens look humanoid? (their females even have boobs!) I continue to suck at aiming and shooting. Inverted Y-axis used to be default, I swear! I really need to get a 360, don't I *sigh*?

I'm sure each of those things could be expanded, but that would require its own post, and a bit more play time that I've given the game.

Flash Games
You Don't Know Jack - Episodes 70 & 71
7 minutes each
Not much to say, just more YDKJ fun. Episode 71 contains a Chocolate Rain meme-tastic question.

Through the Machine
5 minutes
Mouse-movement-avoidance game. Nice features include multiple lives, simple clean graphics, and all the movement is tied to the soundtrack. Play with the speakers on. Of course, you'll only play for a few minutes before you grow annoyed and bored.

Lost Pig
45 minutes
An adorable, and not-too-hard, text adventure. Told from the point of view of Grunk, a hapless orc who has lost his boss's pig. Can he find it? Can he get back to the farm? It's worth a few minutes of your time just because of all the wonderfully creative descriptions. If you get stuck, Jay is Games provides a walkthrough (follow the Review and Comments link at the bottom). Try to get all 7 points.