It has been quite a long week. For example, I couldn't wear my contacts today because my eyes were bothering. Got home this afternoon and put my contacts in again--I had them on inside-out. I didn't even know that was possible. Seriously. Did you know that contacts have a right and wrong side? I didn't... Anyway. I played games this month. Here are some of them. Not all. Just some. Some 41.
Waking Mars
I mean, it's not bad, but it's just not the kind of puzzle game I like. For the most part, the puzzles involve planting things, and it just...isn't that hard? Graphics are mix-and-matched, which I don't like. Music is very soothing. Controls are good. But a puzzle game that isn't particularly puzzling or catchy or innovative isn't really a puzzle game worth spending time with.
LIMBO
I don't like Braid. I don't like Fez. But I really liked LIMBO. does that balance things out? Unsettling world and artstyle, soothing music, challenging but not unfair puzzles, good controls... This is everything Braid wanted to be. Love this game.
How to Survive
When your gimmick is an interactive survival manual that's a cross between Borderlands and the Hitchhiker's Guide, you'd better have some good survival manual type stuff. How To Survive falls flat in that regard. First off, the crafting, which is pretty important in a game like this, isn't particularly deep or intuitive. Second, when your "the tough monsters come out at night" mechanic leads me to Luigi's Mansion some Slenderman lookalikes for free XP, you might be failing on the survival horror front. (I literally just starting finding a corner to back myself into at night so I could farm XP). Finally, top-down combat where the toughest enemies are zombie deer is probably a sign that the combat needs tweaking. It's not bad, in fact it's quite competent at what it's trying to do. It's just...not good enough.
Tony Hawk's Pro Skater HD
This is...this is an abomination upon the classic Tony Hawk games. Seriously. Nothing controls quite as well, the soundtrack isn't half as good as the originals, the graphics aren't really all that much better... This is a cash grab and I feel bad for falling for it. Seriously, there's a DLC called the Revert Pack. YOU COULDN'T BE BOTHERED TO JUST INCLUDE THAT? I'm gonna go play OlliOlli again instead.
Monaco
Another game I feel bad about not liking more. The music is great, the graphics are good, the gameplay is solid, the controls are great. The atmosphere and story are well-done. But for me, personally, it isn't clicking. Which really disappoints me, because I want to love it.
