So last night and this morning were spent at work switching to a different IP phone system. That was fun. I can't feel my fingers. Let's eat trail mix and talk about old games while I try to forget that on Monday, everyone will hate the new system as much as the old one.
Earthworm Jim
I'm sure people will hate me for this, but I don't think Earthworm Jim is a good game. It's gorgeous and the sound is great, but it feels more focused on style and environment than playability. Some genres can get away with that (Gone Home, et al.) but not action platformers. The graphics make it hard to tell what's background vs. foreground, enemies come in at weird angles that I can't hit, attacks trigger before I can see them on-screen… Yeah. Not impressed.
Earthbound
So. Main takeaways from the beginning of the game. Pokey is a douche, Ness' dad is a douche, the Onett cops are dumb, Ness' mom is a neglectful parent, Ness' sister is cool, Picky is cool. Graphics are charming, sound is great. The intro is really quite unsettling—it captures the spirit of War of the Worlds or a zombie movie. Combat, exploration, etc. are all good. Enix was always good at this. Their menus and such always feel quite streamlined to me. Really fun, and it's going on my list for a complete playthrough.
E.V.O. : Search For Eden
I love everything about this game. The soundtrack is chill and slightly eerie. The graphics are bold and distinctive. The main mechanic is awesome. Eat other creatures to evolve. So you start as a fish and end as… Evolutionary choices have pros and cons, like STR vs DEX, etc. I've actually put quite a few hours into this, just making weird fish and such without ever advancing to later levels.
Eye of the Beholder
Okay, this starts out interestingly enough. Build a D&D Party, FPS dungeon-crawling…WAIT! Real-time combat where you have to click on an icon for an attack each time? That seems a bit unfair… You could at least make it turn-based. Honestly, the combat is…it's bad. Ruins the game, really. It's similar to Legend of Grimrock, only lame.
