When it comes to anything “different,” I’m always at the ready. Show me something unique and indecipherable, and I’m on it right away. So when I got my hands on independent point-and-click art school project turned adventure game Trauma, I was pleased as punch. While its interface resembled something closer to educational software or some sort of strange student project meant to explore the depths of the human psyche, what waited inside was even more cryptic. In the end, after having gone into the game completely uninitiated, I enjoyed my time with this strange one, and I suspect you will too.
Archive for August, 2011
Review: Catherine
I’m an avid supporter of choice, especially in video games. Tell me I can choose my own destiny, and you’ll have me hooked. Atlus’ latest darling, Catherine, presented an interesting dilemma: stay with your current, possibly pregnant girlfriend, or cavort with a sprightly blonde tart who mysteriously drops into your life? It’s a tale of two Catherines, one “good” and one “bad,” or so the game would have you believe. The temptation to cheat is great, but for some players, so is the desire to play it “safe” and ensure Katherine, Vincent’s current girlfriend, isn’t betrayed.
Review: Kickin’ Momma
On August 15, 2011
In iPhone/iPod Touch, Review
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Kickin’ Momma sounds a lot more like a headline you wouldn’t want to read in your local paper. Or depending on how you feel about children, maybe you would. Joking. Instead, it’s actually an iPhone/iPad title that very competently challenges one of the most addictive casual games this side of Angry Birds: Peggle. In this bizarre clone of the wildly successful timewaster, you aid a decidedly un-beautiful monster momma put together a gorgeous piece of jewelry..by kicking her own children down into gem-filled pits in order to collect enough prized jewels to create something stunning.
Review: Insanely Twisted Shadow Planet
On August 3, 2011
In Review, Xbox 360, Xbox Live Arcade
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I wasn’t a fan of Limbo. At best, it was a decent puzzle-platformer with some admittedly gory imagery, which is really the only aspect I enjoyed. The plot, endlessly debated by critics everywhere, was nothing to write home about in my opinion, and it bored me rather quickly. So upon the announcement of Insanely Twisted Shadow Planet, I braced myself for more of the same. Thankfully, aside from the mostly pitch-black environments (pops of color are much easier on the eyes) and wordless narrative, ISTP is much more of a peppier, action-oriented puzzler on the Xbox Live Arcade that I genuinely enjoyed my time with. And, at least to me, it’s much more unfriendly than Limbo.