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Pokémon Sun (3DS): COMPLETED!

Posted on 06/02/2017 Written by deKay

That was excellent! Quite a different game to Pokémon Y, although not in the way it is sold: No gyms! No gym leaders! No HMs! No, except trials are almost exact replacements for gyms, captains are virtually the same as gym leaders, and the Ride Pager replaces HMs. Net difference, almost zero.

What’s actually different is how the UI has been improved, with tweaks like being able to immediately put a caught Pokémon in your party. And the streamlined box management, simpler local trading, being able to see move effectiveness (against Pokémon you’ve already fought or have caught) – stuff like that.

Mega Evolutions are gone again, but Z-Moves are really pretty similar replacements. All of the PSS has sadly been stripped out and although the system that is here as an alternative (a mix of the Festival Plaza and Poképelego) is good, it lacks the always-on abilities, Streetpass, and the online web-based games you can play outside of the main game. Since the full announcement of the Nintendo Switch – which doesn’t have Streetpass, but does have a version of Pokémon Sun/Moon coming for it – it’s perhaps clear why this is the case. Anyway. The new features are great for levelling up a load of Pokémon at once so it gets a pass.

As for the game itself, 66 hours is a lot. Not far off twice how long it took to complete Y, in fact, and I’ve not even started the post-game content. I assume there is some (other than just filling the Pokédex), anyway.

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SteamWorld Heist (3DS): COMPLETED!

Posted on 02/02/2017 Written by deKay

The final third of the game was mostly about voltbots, who had various powers like lasers, teleportation, and cloning. Oh, and shield orb things that hovered near them and had to be destroyed before you could damage the voltbots.

With three of my steambots up to level 9, the final level, with the end boss in it, was actually a walkover. Sure, he kept respawning shield orbs, and magically making other voltbots appear, but provided I stayed away from the lasers (you get a move to, er, move), it was simple. I only took two hits, and one of them was friendly fire!

Completing the game took just over 12 hours, although I do have a few more stars to collect, and I haven’t played many missions in higher difficulties than “regular”. And I’ve New Game+ to get stuck into now too, so still plenty to get on with!

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Pokémon Sun (3DS)

Posted on 23/01/2017 Written by deKay

I have reached Po Town! Which is a bit grim. Imagine Team Skull were secretly evil Inklings, and it rained all the time. That’s Po Town – dark, covered in paint splatters, and a bit wet.

You even have to pay a dodgy lady who definitely is not Nurse Joy $10 to heal your pokémon! Pff.

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SteamWorld Heist (3DS)

Posted on 22/01/2017 Written by deKay

Imagine, if you will, a cross between Worms and X-Com. Only instead of worms and space soldiers, you have steambots, of the sort found in SteamWorld Dig. That’s SteamWorld Heist: A 2D, side-on, turn-based tactical shooter strategy game. And I really should have bought and played it months ago because it is excellent.

Each level involves you and a few steambots, each with different abilities, entering a ship and taking out the bad robots within. These abilities include being able to wield weapons from various classes, move further each turn, and so on. More abilities unlock as you play, increasing your health, adding secondary shooting modes, or giving you higher critical rates or steadying your aim.

The evil robots are similarly varied, and coupled with fixed gun turrets, exploding red barrels, flammable goo, orbs that provide shielding, and baddie-dispensing spawn points, the levels are pretty diverse. There are boss fights too, with some huge metal goons that, naturally, have way more energy and some unique skills and attacks.

All these things are great enough on their own, but the game is taken to even higher echelons of awesomeness through the graphic style, the humour, and the levelling system. You’re rewarded for grabbing all the loot stashed around during each mission (in fact doing so is more important than offing the bots), and most levels net you an improved weapon. With each level having a possible score of three or four stars, and you can only obtain all of them by 1) not dying, 2) getting all the loot, and 3) completing the objectives, there’s replayability here too. Even more so when you realise that you can attempt any mission again only on a harder setting to boost the XP bonuses.

I’ve loved every minute so far, and as I’m just over 2/3rds of the way through (I’m guessing, based on Events In The Game That Would Be Classed As Spoilers), with most stars obtained so far, I’m slightly saddened to think it might all be over sooner rather than later. But wait! There’s DLC! Yay!

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Mr. Pumpkin Adventure (Wii U): COMPLETED!

Posted on 15/01/2017 Written by deKay

As this was very cheap in a sale before Christmas, and looked very much like Machinarium would do if drawn by the Links Der Isar chaps.

It’s a point and click puzzle adventure game, with some abstract puzzles, some obvious puzzles, and some multi-part what the hell am I supposed to do here puzzles. Mr. Pumpkin Adventure follows Mr. Pumpkin as he wakes up with amnesia, and has to figure out who he is and why he can’t remember anything. The outcome is very much The Matrix, almost literally, and there are sci-fi references all over the place on the way.

And a giant octopus that wants a Wario hat. Erm.

Look, I’m not doing a very good job of explaining the game because there’s no decent way of doing so. I’ll say this instead: if you liked Machinarium or other, similar games, you’ll love this. It took two or three hours to complete, and was definitely worth the quid or so it cost me.

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