deKay

Earthbound (Wii U)

Posted on 30/03/2014 Written by deKay

Even though I was all over this several months ago, I stopped playing. Not because I was bored with it, but I got stuck. I couldn’t get much further than the pencil bit – the enemies were just too hard, and I died $hlmun times.

But, with Backlog Fighter still in full effect, I returned to it a week or so ago and did that bit on my first go with no difficulty whatsoever. The game was back on. Woo!

Across that area was Paula, who I needed to rescue. We then returned to Twoson where I was given $10,000, which I couldn’t spend on myself, so gave it to popular beat combo Runaway Five so they could be released from their contract and drive to Fourside, dropping me off in Threed on the way. Threed that was full of zombies.

Zombies who caught me, and I had to take control of Jeff instead, who came to the rescue. With three members of my party, I took down the zombie menace (actually, I put some paper on the floor and they all stuck to it). Oh, and killed a sentient circus tent. No, really.

Now I’m on my way somewhere else, presumably Fourside via a non-direct route, and I’ve ended up in Saturn Valley. This place is populated with strange scrotum people who are all called Mr Saturn. And they speak in a very difficult to read font. And have telephones up ladders. And say Zoom a lot. I’m scared they might do… something… while I sleep.

Heroes of Ruin (3DS): COMPLETED!

Posted on 27/03/2014 Written by deKay

What seems like a very long time ago now, there was a sale on at some place I don’t even recall where three 3DS games were a tenner. Or something. One of those games was Heroes of Ruin, and since it was the first time I’d seen it alone for under ten quid, let alone with two other games for the same price, I leapt on it (along with Tetris and Steel Diver). Then they all went on my backlog shelf, and time passed.

Even longer ago, I’d played the Heroes of Ruin demo, and really rather enjoyed it. Why I didn’t start the full game the very second it arrived, I’m not sure. I was probably playing something else at the time.

Not very long ago (last week) I finally got round to making a start, and very recently (today) a finish.

For the first few hours play, I was hooked. The game plays out much like I’ve seen and read (but never played) Diablo does, or Skylanders, for that matter. You choose one of four classes of character (I went for Gunslinger), and then enter levels where you complete quests. These range from finding items, through defeating bosses, to solving some very simple puzzles. Or just reaching the end of the level.

In each level, you defeat foes who get increasingly more dangerous, but you get increasingly more powerful and well defended as you level up and find (or buy, not that you need to buy anything) better items and unlock new buffs and skills. You can return to areas later on to grind if you want (but you never need to), or complete other optional quests (which you never need to) for more money and XP (neither of which you need to grind for).

After a while, you move on from one type of area to another (you start in the caves, then go into the forest), which is filled with different, but similar quests and different, but similar, enemies. Later, the forest gives way to snow covered mountains, and that into a sort of ruined magician’s lab in a hole between dimensions. But the quests and enemies are strangely familiar.

And that’s it. Four areas. Sure, each area has several levels, but they all look the same. In fact, I’m pretty sure most are the same, just with the camera angle rotated. Which is a problem. Combined with the palette-swapped baddies and repetitive quests, Heroes of Ruin just feels like they didn’t spend enough time with it. Another couple of level types, a few more quests which aren’t the same as those already in it, and some more enemy designs and it would have been so much better. It doesn’t help that it’s such an easy game either. I didn’t die, never once had fewer than 15 of my 20 health potions left, never once used an energy potion, never needed to grind for XP, and never needed to spend a single gold coin. Only the final boss caused any real problems, and even that was only because he took ages, not because he was difficult.

I did play multiplayer a bit (it has drop-in, drop-out play for up to four players) which is fun, and even had voice chat, but ultimately it doesn’t change the game in any way, aside from make it even easier. For much of my playthrough I didn’t have anyone to play with anyway.

As it is, there’s no way I can complain for £3.33, and I did enjoy it a great deal, but I can see why it didn’t get the sales it could have.

RSG – The Return

Posted on 27/03/2014 Written by deKay

Oh so many years ago, even further back than my last site update post, I wrote a game called RSG for the CSSCGC. It was too good to win.

Now, I have made a new version. A tiny, tiny version. So tiny!

Have a look on my new RSG page.

Knytt Underground (Wii U): COMPLETED!

Posted on 20/03/2014 Written by deKay

Chapter 3 is enormous. Like, really enormous. It contains the maps from chapters 1 and 2, and then about 50 times as much content again. And it isn’t just how many rooms there are, either – the puzzles and platforming sections are harder, so take longer. There are quests to get items which have you travelling (not too far, usually, thankfully) round the map as you try to complete them. With enough of certain items, you can ring bells, but not until you’ve figured out how to reach them, and with five bells rung you can ring the final one.

And not once does it get dull, or repetitive, or frustrating. No matter how hard bits are, you don’t go back far when you die, and you instantly restart, so even the most difficult screens don’t cause anger. Actually, even the few I was really stuck on I found to be optional anyway, since there are more items than the bare minimum, and usually if you’re short you can supplement them with coins, which are found more frequently and are normally easier to collect – you just need more of them.

With the final bell rung, it was completed, with one of the most half-hearted (and purposefully so) endings I’ve ever seen. In fact, there it is in this very post. Basically, the narrator (who wrote the game) says that’s the end, and he’d off for a cup of tea. OK, so there’s a bit more after that, but not much that makes any sense.

With it done, I found a bit on the title screen I hadn’t accessed (perhaps I couldn’t?) before, which was a short set of platforming challenges in the style of the intermission previously in the game. A couple of bits were pretty tricky, mainly involving those magnetic robots as you fling yourself from one to another trying not to crash into walls of death. I think that’s it now though.

A lovely little game, that well deserves some attention. The morals it tries to deal with and the story could have done with some work, perhaps something is lost in translation, or is too deep for me, but I didn’t really understand a lot of what was going on. I get the Myriadist/Internet divide is a religion/atheism thing, but much of the rest didn’t really work. Ignore all that though (and the terrible character art), and just enjoy a pleasant and involving platformer with some fantastic in-game artwork.

Last Window: The Secret of Cape West (DS): COMPLETED!

Posted on 13/03/2014 Written by deKay

Obviously, I’m going to have to stick some spoilers in here, otherwise I’m not going to be able to say anything about the game. Because, oh boy, were there a few reveals in the latter half of Last Window. Like in the first game, hardly anyone was quite who they appeared to be, and everyone had at least one secret to hide.

The main “what?!” moment was when Dylan – as in, bumbling clumsy sticky-beak handyman Dylan – is revealed to not just be “a bit curious” or even “somewhat creepy”, but in fact is spying on behalf of Nile – the mysterious crime organisation that operates outside the law (and, as it happens, within the law itself). Sure, I thought there was something a bit odd with him, but he’s essentially the main bad guy!

Then there’s the full backstory of Mags and her involvement in the past events, leading to her almost killing Kyle and Tony (seriously – old woman got mad ninja knockout skillz) when Kyle’s just about to make the final breakthrough. Where the hell did she get “police-strength sleep spray” from? It’s never explained.

And Will White not being Will White? And Marie nearly jumping off the roof to her death? Drama!

Anyway, as in Hotel Dusk, the last few hours play is mostly about tying up the ends of each character’s story. Most of them have a past issue that needs resolving, or they need convincing to leave Cape West, and once that’s done Kyle moves onto the getting the final answers to all the remaining questions. In this game, that meant finding a hidden poker room, which revealed in a very Raiders of the Lost Ark way, a secret stash containing the very gem Kyle’s dad died stealing 25 years ago.

As with Last Window, there’s a lot of million-to-one chance coincidences. Some are explained, some are left as mere unlikely chances. This does make the story feel a little contrived, but thankfully – again, like the first title – the story is strong enough to carry it. It felt like a proper detective novel, played out with a stylus.

There weren’t many puzzles, and most were quite easy, but it made (as did Cing’s other works) great, and unusual, use of the DS too. In one part of the game you have to retrieve a key from a musical box. It’s inside a rotating drum in the box, and the DS itself acts as the box and lid. Open the DS, the music plays and the drum rotates. Close the DS and the music stops. To get the key out, you have to mostly close the DS when a gap in the drum lines up with the key, then press R to lever the key out a little, then squeeze the stylus inside the mostly-shut DS to “grab” the key and pull it free. Awkward, just like the actual task would be really. Brilliant!

At a little over 15 hours I’d finished the game. I’d say that was a pretty much perfect length to spread the story out without wishing for it to just wrap up quickly. My only complaint is that there aren’t any more Cing games to play, as they disbanded years ago. Shame.