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Another World: trial and error

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As a game, it's aged.  The controls are a little rigid, with fixed jump lengths and the same button used for shooting and running.  The updated graphics, in cut scenes especially, look a bit flat and lifeless.  The difficulty level means that you are never far from a death, often from something you couldn't see coming.  I've no idea if the original game had chapter saves, but if it didn't it would have been almost impossible.

But it's a fantastic experience.  the story has really pulled me in, despite the lack of words and signposts.  Transported to a new world, captured and thrown in jail, then after escaping and making a friend, constantly hunted down.  I want to make it to the end to see whether I can escape, but some sections are proving pretty difficult.


It took me ages to work out that I had to shoot this rock to give myself a path back up.  It took me even longer to realise that I had to make it through the screens to the right of this one, past the falling rocks, in order to  shoot out a wall which then stopped the level flooding in the wrong place.  There was nothing indicating what you have to do, more an immediate death if you did it wrong.

Actually, there was one thing indicating the correct direction.  The game has hidden checkpoints you trigger if you do something in the wrong order.  If you die and start in a different place to the last 300 attempts, you know you've made progress.

There are some minor visual clues as well.  After fighting past a couple of guards I found this room.



 I'd previously been killed multiple times by a guard in a room with these lights hanging from the ceiling.  The shadow at the bottom of these balls moves across and stops directly under the big one, which you can shoot.  Do it right, and you hear something cry out ... and then later you find this.


I have no idea how far I am through the game now.  I've been swimming in an area I think I flooded earlier, and have helped my alien friend get through a corridor - but he's disappeared again.  There was a room at the end of a corridor which was instant death every time I entered it, but when swimming I found a power line and I hope that's done something about that.  We shall see.

The Starship Damrey (3DS): COMPLETED!

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tumblr_niligxz4vg1svmpf2o1_1280Some games can’t be described in great detail otherwise you’d give away plot spoilers. I can’t really mention anything about The Starship Damrey at all for the same reason.

Even in its opening dialogue, it tells you that you’re going in blind. Nothing is explained. Not even the controls, let alone what you’re supposed to do. So I don’t want to ruin anything.

What I will say, is that this is a good story, with some light game-y sections, and a great twist at the end. And the whole game is only a couple of hours long.

And it’s a bit scary.

Scribblenauts Unmasked: A DC Comics Adventure (Wii U): COMPLETED!

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So_Maxwell_made_a_time_machine_to_prevent_Batgirl_getting_shotThe game’s title is a bit verbose, isn’t it? I’ll be referring to it as Scribblenauts Batman instead, because that’s what it is. Sure, the rest of the Justice League are in it, but then Lego Batman 2 and 3 have them as well. Batman’s the headline act.

In fact, virtually every DC character you could ever imagine, including every variant (Earth Two, Red Son, Bizzaro, New 52, etc.) are also in it. And costumes to dress up other characters as DC characters. And all the stuff you’d expect from a Scribblenauts game usually. Lots.

Green_vs_YellowThe story (yes, there’s a story) involves Maxwell and his sister Lily being transported to the DC Universe (or one of the DC Universes, at least), and losing a load of Starites en-route. Somewhere along the way, Maxwell’s evil clone – created by Maxwell – appears and teams up with all the DC villains. Each level is a set of traditional Scribblenauts puzzles (much like in Scribblenauts Unlimited) often with DC related characters, and a “boss battle” where you and a DC hero take on Doppleganger and a DC villain. So Batman vs The Joker, Green Lantern vs Sinestro, etc. These battles are really just more puzzles, but it breaks up the game and adds something a bit different.

Thank_you_Mari-uh__Maxwell__but_our_princess_is_etc.Scribblenauts Batman, then, isn’t any sort of reinvention of the series, but if you’re a DC fan there’s some joy to be had creating an enormous airborne undead radioactive pensive spotty exploding evil Aquaman (New 52) riding a yellow glowing sentient gigantic carrot with a jetpack. Or something.

This_better_work_Like the previous game, it’s pretty short if you just rush through the main puzzles and battles, earning just enough points to spend on unlocking new locations (like Metropolis and Oa) and progress the plot to completion. There’s a load of replay value through, as each location has different puzzles each time you revisit them, and sometimes Mr Mxyzptlk pops up to challenge you to complete them all without using adjectives, or only using DC Heroes, or only with female characters, all for bonus points. You’re also penalised if you repeat words in a single level, so you can’t solve similar puzzles in the same way if you want maximum points.

Day_of_the_TentacleI’ve finished the story and unlocked, and completed, the Batman origin story (each of the main heroes has one as a sort of bonus) and quite a few of the non-story puzzles, so there’s still quite a lot to do. It seems there’s no checklist like with Unlimited though, so I’m not sure how you determine everything is properly 100% done. Unless I’m missing something.

Oh, and how am I playing this on the Wii U when it never came out in the UK on the Wii U? Because I imported it from Australia, of course! For some reason it was released there but not here, and although the Wii U is region locked, Australia is the same region so the game works fine. Phew, eh?

Fantasy Life (3DS)

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tumblr_nhzgnw9waj1svmpf2o1_400I may have completed the story in this, but that was at around the 27 hour mark. Which, considering I’ve just scurried past 42 hours, was some time ago. As I’ve mentioned before, there are loads of side quests, but I’ve still hardly touched them. Instead, I’ve been changing Life and choosing different careers to master.

After playing the story as a Paladin, which, as I suspected, worked out well in terms of fighting things, I decided on a complete change of pace with Tailor. It’s entirely different. You have to collect wool and flowers, and buy some other materials like buttons and string, and then in a series of simple mini-games create clothes. It wasn’t hard, and I was a Master of that life in just three hours. The hardest part was finding shops that sold the necessary materials! Tailoring was a great way to make money though, as selling what you make nets a substantial profit.

HNI_0090After Tailor, I went with Hunter. Like Paladin it’s combat based, but with a bow. This actually makes defeating some of the harder enemies – like the virtually indestructible dragons – easier to take down as you can do so from a distance. It’s a very slow process though.

With Hunter done, I changed to Blacksmith. Like Tailor, it was all about picking up the raw materials – most of which I had to buy, unfortunately. I realised later that if I’d been a Miner first I’d be able to collect them as part of that career, then use them as a smithy. Still, the mini-game weapon and armour creation process yielded some pretty nice kit (most of which would have been useful as a Paladin, so a bit pointless now) which could be sold for a mountain of Dosh.

HNI_0089Realising how I’d done Blacksmith and Miner backwards, I then decided to do Woodcutter before Carpenter, and quickly mastered that life. Unlike the other lives (since Paladin, anyway), Woodcutter was a good source of XP, perhaps making up for not making a lot of money.

Then it was on to Miner, which was much like Woodcutter only with trees instead of rocks, and also good for levelling up, before my most recent Mastery – Alchemist. I decided to go for that so I’d be able to create the materials I expect will be useful as a Magician. Which is handy, as that’s what I chose next! I’ve only spent a few minutes in this life, though.

tumblr_nif5ka2een1svmpf2o1_400Still lots to do. I suspect Mercenary will be the most interesting of the remaining careers, so I’m going to leave that to last. Hopefully I’ll be up to Level 50 by then (I’m 42 at the moment) so should be able to slay pretty much everything. Then I might even make a start on some of the side quests that I’ve ignored. I have completed some, but only because I happened to have the items or killed the beasties as I wandered round everywhere, rather than because I went out of my way to do so.

Fantasy Life (3DS)

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tumblr_nhzgnw9waj1svmpf2o1_400I may have completed the story in this, but that was at around the 27 hour mark. Which, considering I’ve just scurried past 42 hours, was some time ago. As I’ve mentioned before, there are loads of side quests, but I’ve still hardly touched them. Instead, I’ve been changing Life and choosing different careers to master.

After playing the story as a Paladin, which, as I suspected, worked out well in terms of fighting things, I decided on a complete change of pace with Tailor. It’s entirely different. You have to collect wool and flowers, and buy some other materials like buttons and string, and then in a series of simple mini-games create clothes. It wasn’t hard, and I was a Master of that life in just three hours. The hardest part was finding shops that sold the necessary materials! Tailoring was a great way to make money though, as selling what you make nets a substantial profit.

HNI_0090After Tailor, I went with Hunter. Like Paladin it’s combat based, but with a bow. This actually makes defeating some of the harder enemies – like the virtually indestructible dragons – easier to take down as you can do so from a distance. It’s a very slow process though.

With Hunter done, I changed to Blacksmith. Like Tailor, it was all about picking up the raw materials – most of which I had to buy, unfortunately. I realised later that if I’d been a Miner first I’d be able to collect them as part of that career, then use them as a smithy. Still, the mini-game weapon and armour creation process yielded some pretty nice kit (most of which would have been useful as a Paladin, so a bit pointless now) which could be sold for a mountain of Dosh.

HNI_0089Realising how I’d done Blacksmith and Miner backwards, I then decided to do Woodcutter before Carpenter, and quickly mastered that life. Unlike the other lives (since Paladin, anyway), Woodcutter was a good source of XP, perhaps making up for not making a lot of money.

Then it was on to Miner, which was much like Woodcutter only with trees instead of rocks, and also good for levelling up, before my most recent Mastery – Alchemist. I decided to go for that so I’d be able to create the materials I expect will be useful as a Magician. Which is handy, as that’s what I chose next! I’ve only spent a few minutes in this life, though.

tumblr_nif5ka2een1svmpf2o1_400Still lots to do. I suspect Mercenary will be the most interesting of the remaining careers, so I’m going to leave that to last. Hopefully I’ll be up to Level 50 by then (I’m 42 at the moment) so should be able to slay pretty much everything. Then I might even make a start on some of the side quests that I’ve ignored. I have completed some, but only because I happened to have the items or killed the beasties as I wandered round everywhere, rather than because I went out of my way to do so.