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Donkey Kong Country Returns 3D (3DS): COMPLETED!

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I am not a big fan of the Donkey Kong Country series of games. I didn’t like the SNES ones, I didn’t like the Game Boy ones, and although Donkey Kong 64 started well, the collecting killed it for me.

As a result, I didn’t even have a slight interest in the Wii game “Donkey Kong Country Returns”, of which this is a 3D “remix”. So why then did I play it? Firstly, curiosity. Secondly, it was free. And thirdly? Lots of people raving about it.

And today, I completed it. And it was hard.

Oh boy was it hard. I don’t think I’ve played such an unrelentingly difficult game in ages. Certainly not to completion, anyway (and Cloudberry Kingdom and VVVVVV don’t count due to unlimited lives and instant, nearby, respawn points). Somehow, though, it’s the difficulty that I enjoyed. The satisfaction of finally beating one of the hard-as-nails barrel rocket levels. Or besting that robot chicken boss even though it seemed impossible for the first 27 lives.

And not once did I resort to using the Super Guide flag-waving pig thing. Woo!

My impressions of the game besides the difficulty, then. Well, it’s pretty. So very pretty, especially in 3D. It plays really well too, and I’m not really understanding the control problems people have had with it. Sure, “grab” on R is a bit odd, but you get used to it. The timing for “bouncing on a baddie to boost jump” is tricky, especially on the later levels where it’s essential, but not really a control issue. From the comments people have made, it seems lots of players seem to be randomly rolling off cliffs and dying. Not really sure how they’re doing that.

I’ve said that the game was free (it was part of the “So Many Games” promotion a few months back), so would I, with hindsight, have bought it? Yes. Probably. Not for the full price, but maybe £15. Will I be going back and 100%ing the game? No. Some of the levels are too stressful to complete normally, let alone grabbing jigsaw pieces and KONG letters. I think it’ll go back on the virtual shelf with a 3/5 sticker, and I’ll be happy it’s done, but not sad to see it gathering dust.

Dead Space – Completed

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After all that it was my mind playing tricks, Nicole was not even alive. I've killed Necromorphs by the bucket-load, battle with the hunter, leviathan & finally the hive mind. The marker & even the planet is now destroyed.

I was a bucket of nerves all the way through because you just never knew what was around the corner, would anything jump out at you or drop down from the ceiling. The tension created by the music & sound effects had me on the edge of my seat until I reached the safety of the tram. 

I love the tram system it was the one place I could breathe easier knowing that  I have reached the end of another terrifying chapter. This relief would only last for a few seconds before it would transport me to the next destination.

The Pulse Rifle & Plasma Cutter almost became an extension of the rig armour. Eventually when fully upgraded they could kill any necromorph with a couple of shots.

Fifteen hours of horror gameplay took me back to the first time I played Resident Evil. Technology has moved on over the years but the fear remains the same.

This was no Mario saves the princess expedition. The Princess was dead before Isaac had even arrived. I'm not sure I'm brave enough to play the next game in the series. I also don't think the next  game will have the same enjoyment, fear or tension that I experienced with the first game.

But I do admit to being a little curious to see how the storyline develops. I may yet decide at some point to return to space. If I can muster up the courage.

Dead Space – Completed

Posted on Written by

After all that it was my mind playing tricks, Nicole was not even alive. I've killed Necromorphs by the bucket-load, battle with the hunter, leviathan & finally the hive mind. The marker & even the planet is now destroyed.

I was a bucket of nerves all the way through because you just never knew what was around the corner, would anything jump out at you or drop down from the ceiling. The tension created by the music & sound effects had me on the edge of my seat until I reached the safety of the tram. 

I love the tram system it was the one place I could breathe easier knowing that  I have reached the end of another terrifying chapter. This relief would only last for a few seconds before it would transport me to the next destination.

The Pulse Rifle & Plasma Cutter almost became an extension of the rig armour. Eventually when fully upgraded they could kill any necromorph with a couple of shots.

Fifteen hours of horror gameplay took me back to the first time I played Resident Evil. Technology has moved on over the years but the fear remains the same.

This was no Mario saves the princess expedition. The Princess was dead before Isaac had even arrived. I'm not sure I'm brave enough to play the next game in the series. I also don't think the next  game will have the same enjoyment, fear or tension that I experienced with the first game.

But I do admit to being a little curious to see how the storyline develops. I may yet decide at some point to return to space. If I can muster up the courage.

Thomas Was Alone (PS3): COMPLETED!

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Here’s something unusual – a PS3 game. A completed PS3 game at that. Haven’t had that in months!

Thomas Was Alone was something I did want to play. I thought about getting it on Steam, but then I remembered – I don’t play PC games – so waited until a console release. Sadly, it only hit the PS3 (and Vita, I think), rather than any console I actually use, so I left it. Until I realised I had just over six quid in my PSN account and Thomas Was Alone went on sale for about £2.39 or something.

And I wanted to spend my PSN “cash” before Sony stole it again (if you don’t spend it after a certain amount of time, Sony just take it from you – already had that happen once), of course.

So Thomas Was Bought, played, enjoyed, and completed.

There are two main parts to the game. The first is the puzzle platforming bit. Thomas, a rectangle, and various other rectangles with different names and various physical “powers” (able to jump higher, double jump, have reversed gravity, act as a trampoline, etc.) have to reach matching rectangular door “portals” across about 80 levels of platforming. The graphics are plain, the puzzles mostly simple, and sound effects are almost nonexistent. It’s not a bad game, just there’s no depth and very little challenge.

But there’s another part to the game. The running narration of the progress, feelings and story behind all these little rectangles. They all have distinct personalities, egos and fears. Not a single part of the narration affects how the game plays at all, but the funny characters that it draws out of the shapes you control adds a massive layer of purpose to the game, elevating it above the “drab puzzle platformer” it appears to be.

It’s short, and I spent between two and three hours on it, but it’s definitely well worth playing. And best of all, it uses the d-pad and a single button on the PS3 controller (plus L1/R1 to swap shape) so it’s even enjoyable to control for those of us who hate the Dual Shock 3. Lovely.

Now, what do I spend my remaining £3.80-ish on?

Thomas Was Alone: Completed!

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Told you I had nearly finished it.

A few of the puzzles towards the end were a bit tricky, particularly when I was trying to balance two squat blocks on top of a tall thin block, but there was nothing for which I required external help. I was impressed that there were very few repeated puzzles over the 100 levels, and the game finished at pretty much the right time - before it had to introduce too many new gameplay mechanics.

One of the most affecting parts of the game was losing the original cast and being given the grey blocks instead. The narration at this point was a little weak, not expressing the emotion of the change or the bewilderment of the newly introduced blocks in the same way as for previous characters. This was rectified towards the end of the levels where Gray was portrayed as a villain - even though you were controlling both him and all other characters. Seeing each of them in turn eaten by the pixel cloud was daunting (though I can't remember Team Jump's exit).

It's not the most accomplished game ever, but as a story-driven experience it works really well.