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Brothers – a Tale of Two Sons: completed!

Posted on 27/03/2014 Written by Xexyz

I've played through this over the last couple of evenings, and have loved it.  It's easy to think of the game as a gimmick, with the idea of controlling two characters at once, but once you get used to this (which takes a while!) the game reveals itself as a clever puzzle platformer with moving story.

The puzzles throughout the game are varied enough to not outstay their welcome, without the need for any sort of power-up mechanic. Some of the highlights were manoeuvring a long metal pole through  a maze with limited turning points, and a long section where one brother hung from a conveyor belt while the other opened gates.  These were by no means the only clever puzzles, and even those which are pretty standard parts of videogames were freshened by the control scheme.

The story was equally innovative, in that it explored the themes of sickness and death more intimately than most other games. The game starts with the background story of the little brother witnessing (and finding himself responsible for) his mother's death, followed by the main story of his father's sickness.  The two brothers journeyed to get medicine to cure their father, emphasising the importance of the family.  The strong bonds that the story imposes are all the more effective when ... things happen ... at the end of the game.  I've rarely felt such a sense of shock and horror.

Well worth playing through, though don't expect happiness and fun all the way through.

Filed Under: Gaming Diary Tagged With: completed, Playstation 3

New Super Mario Bros U: completed!

Posted on 22/03/2014 Written by Xexyz

I left this alone for a long time - I'm not sure why, it may have been because some of the levels were a little too frustrating.  Indeed, after I went back to it a week ago, there have been a few instances where after completing a level I've had to put the controller down and walk away.  Alternatively, I've had to go back to an early stage in order to get a few more lives ...


Anyway, on returning it appeared that there were relatively few stages to complete until I reached the castle, which was hidden in a cloud of smog.  Or maybe magic smoke.


Some of the levels in the castle were really difficult.  I think the hardest was a level where you stood on a tilting platform, which you steered by tilting the gamepad.  At the same time, you had to control Mario jumping on switch blocks, throwing bombs off the platform, and avoiding getting stuck (so that the rising lava didn't catch up).


Eventually, I got to the final door ...


... and the final boss fight harked back to the original Super Mario Bros, where jumping past Bowser and hitting the button caused him to fall down and die.  Most amusing.


Of course, that wasn't the end, and Bowser came back four times the size and meaner than ever.  Luckily, Bowser Jr was there to lend me his little hovering thing, so I could get high enough to jump on Bowser's head.  It took me a couple of attempts, but he soon departed.


That's one strong hovercraft.


Of course, although I've marked this completed (I've seen the end credits after all), there's a lot of the game remaining.  I've not collected all the large coins on each stage - I went back after seeing the credits and collected the coins on Acorn Plains, just so I could play one level on Star Road.  There was one coin that eluded me for ages, and it turns out it was on a hidden route off another hidden route.




I'll go back to this one day soon, but for now I've still got NSMBW to complete ...

Filed Under: Gaming Diary Tagged With: completed, wii u

Knytt Underground (Wii U): COMPLETED!

Posted on 20/03/2014 Written by deKay

Last_bell___darksoulsChapter 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.

tumblr_n2qbqwlb0e1svmpf2o1_1280With 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.

Filed Under: Gaming Diary Tagged With: completed, knytt, Post, wii u

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

Posted on 13/03/2014 Written by deKay

tumblr_n2eb63btb11svmpf2o1_1280Obviously, 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!

tumblr_n2eb4ugybr1svmpf2o1_1280Then 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.

tumblr_n2eb5owsdm1svmpf2o1_1280There 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.

Filed Under: Gaming Diary Tagged With: completed, ds, hotel dusk, last window, Post

Dust – Completed

Posted on 04/03/2014 Written by gospvg

After completing the sorrowing meadows and defeating the demon it was time to head to the Mountains & find the moonblood village.

There I met an elder who explained I was created by the moonbloods from the souls of two people. Jin (Ginger's brother) & an assassin called Cassius. General Gaius knew of the village and was planning an attack so it was time for the final showdown.

You have to fight quite a few soldiers in this volcanic region before you come face to face with General Gaius, it is quite a tough boss fight because it has quite a few stages. I had to use up nearly all of my healing items to ensure I would not die.

Unfortunately it is  not only General Gaius who meets his end has Dust perishes in the lava. An enjoyable metroidvania type of game with great voice acting for the main characters.

Next on the list to complete Army of Two Devils Cartel.

Filed Under: Gaming Diary Tagged With: completed, Dust, Xbox 360

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97: I’m Feeling A Bit Squiffy
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G’morrow beautiful friends! Here to waft away the damp, darkened skies of the season (or maybe make them damper and darker), it’s Episode 97 of the ugvm Podcast. The podcast you love to subscribe to but hit skip when it comes up on the playlist. Yeah, we know. It’s OK. We don’t get paid either way.

In this episode, deKay, Kendrick and Toby “entertain” you with fun game related news and chat, which this time round includes speculation on Valve’s new hardware triple combo, a show report from the Valorant Champions event in that there Paris (France, not Texas), and one of the team became A Magnificent Man in a Flying Machine. Oh, and Kendrick has bought a new VR headset. Yes, Hell has finally frozen over. Not only that! We have gaaaaaaaaames!

97: I’m Feeling A Bit Squiffy
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