Flight Control HD (PC) (2010)

Overview and Recommendation:
Flight Control is a simple game that's well suited for play on a tablet. With just a small number of levels, the game is great for a casual gaming experience, but has a high likelihood of growing stale.

In other words, while trying to get a high score on all the levels is fun, a simple game like Flight Control would have either benefited from having more levels or from a level creator so that users can make and share custom levels.

In any case, the goal of Flight Control is to direct incoming planes and helicopters towards the appropriate landing strips and landing zones. While the concept is simple, the player needs to avoid collisions and keep in mind that the different types of aircraft travel at different speeds.

While a mouse works pretty well, this game was originally designed for iOS and truly built with touch controls in mind. As such, I would recommend getting Flight Control HD for any platform which has touchscreen input (e.g., smartphones and tablets).

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20111207:
This is my first time playing Flight Control. Achievements were earned from 5:31pm (Safety Card - Read the game tutorial) to 6:51pm (Nice Shades - Open all umbrellas simultaneously on the Stunt airfield).

[20140420]

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20111230:
While I may have played the games here and there, the only other date attached to an achievement is today at 3:57pm (Snowball - Land 5 helicopters in a row on the Windy airfield).

[20140420]

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20140420:
I played today and tried to complete the last of my achievements.

2:33pm Crowded Sky - Reach 20 "Most Aircraft on Screen"
: I accomplished this one while trying to accomplish Restrainer.

3:07pm Restrainer - Land no aircraft for 3 minutes
3:21pm Summer Drought - Land 50 aircraft without flying through any gates on the Stunt airfield
: I felt as if the game handed me this achievement before I landed 50 aircraft. Maybe the achievement is cumulative.
4:11pm Wings - Land 200 aircraft in a game
: I used the Stunt airfield and focused on getting the stunt airplanes through as many gates as possible, because the bonus score grows non-linearly. In short, getting a stunt airplane through all the gates earns sixteen extra points.

Interested in accomplishing the Veteran achievement (Play 200 games in total), I searched for a way to determine the total number of games I've played thus far. Searching the internet, I found the following tip:

To see how many games you've played, go to output_log file in the Flight Control folder in your steamapps. CTRL+F (find) the word "games", it will show you number of games played.

Sadly, I have only played 53 games total thus far and decided to set this last achievement aside for a rainy day.

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20240322 Snapshot:
output_log:
(Level: High Score | Total Planes Landed | Most Planes On Screen)
Original: 121 | 579 | 24
Beach: 41 | 65 | 10
Carrier: 39 | 53 | 9
HD Original and Beach: 38 | 38 | 15
HD Beach and Carrier: 49 | 75 | 28
HD Outback and Original: 34 | 177 | 23
Outback: 56 | 56 | 9
Windy: 92 | 280 | 13
Stunt: 291 | 1351 | 22
Total Planes Landed - Overall: 2674
Number of Games Played: 80

Steam Game Time: 4.7 hours (cumulative game time)
Last Played: 20150206

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20240322:
Today I played some Flight Control HD. I spent some time playing the game while watching The Seven Deadly Sins, and so a good chunk of the time (maybe about 20%) was spent idle.

Setup: Mouse. Too lazy to load the game onto a tablet, I just played on my computer. But I think this game is best with a tablet.

Note that one element I tried to take advantage of is that transportations can actually approach the landing spot from multiple directions. An element that I did not take advantage of is pausing the game to think about how to deal with potential collisions. Note that one can manually pause the game by pressing pause, but that will bring up a menu screen. Instead, one can click on a different window and the game will automatically pause without a menu screen coming up.

It's not an amazing game, but it is a great casual game. I'll give it a solid 4.0 out of 5.

Steam Game Time: 9.8 hours (cumulative game time) / 5.1 hours (session game time)

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Flight Control HD (PC) (2010)*
*Flight Control (iOS) (2009)

Relevant Links:
Flight Control (video game) (Wikipedia.org)
Flight Control HD (Steam Store Page)

Lume (PC) (2011)

Overview: Lume is a short puzzle adventure game whose set is built entirely from paper and cardboard. It's sequel Lumino City (PC) (2014) is much longer (~6 hours).

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20111124,5:

Gameplay Log:
: I played and got stuck at the kitchen cabinet.
: The game ran sluggishly on my laptop. I plan to move my Steam installation back to the main drive.
: I played through again on a different computer and was still stuck.
: I played through again today on my Mac and I could neither make heads nor tails of the clue in the library book.
: After falling asleep and waking up a little frustrated, I looked up the solution to the puzzle. It was a little ridiculous, but I suppose with enough patience it would have revealed itself. I suppose I'm also not used to these point and click games. There's certain indications of what you should focus on.
: When I learned that was the end of Lume: Part 1, I was a little sad. I definitely look forward to the rest of Lume.

The game's art design is absolutely wonderful. $3.49 well spent.

[20111125][20190707 Edit]

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20121220:
Today I replayed the game. I remembered the solutions to many of the puzzles, but I had forgotten the solution to the musical door.

After I had stopped playing, I couldn't stop thinking about the puzzle. It just one of those puzzles that captures my attention. As such, after leaving the game, I turned it back on and tried exploring the house again. With either perseverance or good fortune, one of the items I found fixed the object that gives the hint to opening the musical door.

Upon finishing the game, I was not sure if the ending had changed since I last played, because today it felt different. In particular, the ending had a sense of closure. To clarify, before I felt the game left off on a cliffhanger. Today, it felt as if the character had more places to explore, but this chapter of her story was complete.

[20121220][20190707 Edit]

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Summary:
The puzzles in this game, when seen for the first time, may be difficult. But it is such a short game that one should savor the time spent trying to figure out each and every puzzle (don't make the same mistake I did and look up any solutions). Of course, beyond the puzzles are the amazing paper and cardboard visuals.

[20121220][20190707 Edit]

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Lume (PC) (2011)

Relevant Links:
Lume (State of Play Website)
Lume (PC) (MetaCritic.com)
Lume (Steam Store Page)

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Trailer:

Zen Bound 2 (PC) (2010)

Zen Bound 2 (PC) (2010)

Relevant Links:
Zen Bound Website
Zen Bound (Wikipedia.org)
Zen Bound 2 (Steam Store Page)
Zen Bound 2 (PC) (MetaCritic.com)

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Overview:
Zen Bound 2 is a meditative game where your goal is wrap a finite length of rope around a (wooden or stone) object and thereby covering it in paint.

Choose a Tree (= A Collection of Levels)

While an important goal for each level is to cover one-hundred percent of the object's surface, the eager player can also focus on reducing the length of rope used to do so. Note however that a player earns one flower for seventy percent (also the minimum to complete a level), two flowers for eighty percent, and three flowers for ninety-nine percent. Earn flowers to unlock more levels, but earn 100% of all levels for an achievement.

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Recommendation:
Zen Bound 2 is a great game for touch devices, but is also enjoyable with a mouse (or keyboard).

Then again, impatient players may not enjoy Zen Bound to the fullest, because achieving 100% on a level can require planning and patience.

With that being said, I love the game's aesthetics and I'm glad that I own the game.

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20111123:
Steam Achievments:
9:32am Getting the Hang of It
11:02am Anti Spike
11:06am Unwinder

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20140929 Comment:
Prior to playing on 20140929, I had completed the following:
[1] 15/15 Tree of Introduction (Completed)

Choose a Level.

[2] 15/36 Tree of Vitality
[3] 06/36 Tree of Challenge

[20150214]

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20140929:
After playing today, the following changes occurred:
[2] 22/36 Tree of Vitality
[4] 09/36 Tree of Nostalgia

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20150214 Comment:
As of 20150214, I've played Zen Bound for two hours and last played it on 20140929.

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20150214:
Today I completed the Tree of Vitality. I decided, however, not to focus on getting 100% on all it's levels.

Afterwards I also played a couple of levels from the Tree of Challenge, but I soon got bored and stopped.

After playing today, the following changes occurred:
[2] 30/36 Tree of Vitality (Completed)
[3] 14/36 Tree of Challenge

A nice level for unlocking the Pacifist Achievement.

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20240430 Snapshot:
Steam Game Time: 3.7 hours (cumulative game time) / 3h 43m (Playnite)
Last Played: 20150214

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20240430:
I revisited Zen Bound 2 today and it's a fun game with a lot of levels. Unfortunately, at this point in my life, I'm not keen on playing this game any further. I will, however, rate it 4.4 out of 5.

Rating: 4.4/5

Steam Game Time: 4.5 hours (cumulative game time) / 0.8 hours (session game time)

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AaAAaaaAAAaaAAAAaAAAAA!!! — A Reckless Disregard for Gravity (PC) (2009)

Overview: A BASE jumping game where the goal is to fly near objects to earn points.

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-- The updated version of this game: AaaaaAAaaaAAAaaAAAAaAAAAA!!! for the Awesome --

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20110830 AM Hours ET:
I took two screenshots of this game today, fifty minutes apart from each other.

(20110820)

[20181031]

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Steam Game Time: As of 20181031, 101 minutes (total game time)

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Thoughts:
Pros:
+ Unique gameplay

(20110820)

Cons:
- Repetitive

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Summary:
No comments at this time.

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AaAAaaaAAAaaAAAAaAAAAA!!! — A Reckless Disregard for Gravity (PC) (2009)*
*Also known as AaAaAA!!! - A Reckless Disregard for Gravity

Relevant Links:
AaAaAA!!! - A Reckless Disregard for Gravity (Wikipedia.org)
AaAaAA!!! - A Reckless Disregard for Gravity (Steam Store Page)

Portal (PC) (2007)

20110417:
Save files:
Testchamber 08 Sun Apr 17 09:43:02 2011
Testchamber 08 Sun Apr 17 09:43:16 2011
Testchamber 10 Sun Apr 17 15:55:03 2011
AUTO SAVE Testchamber 16 Sun Apr 17 16:40:17 2011
Testchamber 18 Sun Apr 17 19:05:58 2011
Testchamber 19 Sun Apr 17 19:46:11 2011
AUTO SAVE Testchamber 19 Sun Apr 17 19:57:06 2011
Testchamber 19 Sun Apr 17 21:15:21 2011
Testchamber 19 Sun Apr 17 21:16:17 2011

Goodbye Companion Cube :-(

Steam says I acquired the fully powered Aperture Science Handheld Portal Device at 3:55pm and completed the game at 9:14pm. Thus I estimate having spent 4 to 5 hours on my first playthrough.

[20120717][20130113]

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20120717:
I started a new game a couple minutes after midnight.

Save files:
Testchamber 14 Tue Jul 17 00:38:19 2012
Testchamber 19 Tue Jul 17 01:45:49 2012
AUTO SAVE Testchamber 19 Tue Jul 17 01:45:52 2012
AUTO SAVE Testchamber 19 Tue Jul 17 01:46:29 2012

I stopped upon entering Testchamber 19. I probably have about an hour of gameplay for the story mode left.

Cake! Wait a minute...

Tip: For some fun, you can dislodge security cameras mounted on portal-susceptible walls with your portals.

[20120717]

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20130113 Comment:
I'm tempted to complete the new game I started on 20120717, but I ultimately decide not to complete it.

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20130118:
Today I completed the remainder of my second playthrough in just under an hour as estimated on 20120717; I played from about 3:50AM ET to about 4:45AM ET. In total, I spent under 3 hours on my second playthrough.

Steam Game Time: 1.0 hrs last two weeks / 9.0 hrs on record

[20130118][20181208 Edit]

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"Still Alive" by Jonathan Coulton

Summary:
The game mechanic is innovative. At first you simply use the portals given. Working through the test chambers you eventually get one of the two colors. You keep going until you eventually get both and the levels slowly get harder. I can't say I recall how hard the first 18 chambers were for me the first time around, but it only took me about an hour and 45 minutes to complete the first 18 chambers on my second playthrough.

The game mechanics are fun and lend themselves to impressive in-game graphics. For example, positioning the portals in the right way can create an infinitely repeating image. Or, positioned in the right way, a player can fall through the portals endlessly.

And last, but not least, you're bound to enjoy the robot's commentary. I know I do.

[20120717][20181208 Edit]

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Portal (PC) (2007)

Title Screen after Beating the Game

Relevant Links:
Portal (PC) (MetaCritic.com)
My Portal 2 (PC) (2011) post.

Lucidity (PC) (2009)

Overview: Place objects to help guide a little girl named Sofi safely through her dreams.

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20231219 Snapshot:
Achievement History:
20110103 First Steps, Firefly Collector
20110106 Wonder
20110123 Firefly Enthusiast

Steam Game Time: 5.1 hours (cumulative game time)
Last Played: 20140112

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20231219:
Today I loaded up this game. First I tried to load up an old save file using Game Save Manager. This seemed to freeze the game and so I deleted the old files and the menu was working again. I noticed in one of the files `usernames.txt` it referred to my Steam Name differently. So I loaded up the old save file again and replaced the entry of the older `usernames.txt` with how it would be on a fresh load. Luckily this did the trick and I was able ot use my old save file which had levels finished up to right before the end of Act II. I did play a couple of earlier levels to jog my memory of what the game was about.

Setup: Used the mouse.

I managed to complete the story and then I tried some of the achievements. I'm thinking the game is too random and hectic to collect more fireflies. It would honestly be more of a grind than skill.

Steam Game Time: 6.8 hours (cumulative game time) / 1.7 hours (session game time) / 103 minutes (last two weeks)

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Thoughts:
Pro:
+ Drawings and good art design

Neutral:
~ Overall story is mediocre, pieces of the story are okay

Cons:
- Power-ups come too randomly. While there's some strategy to piecing together different power-ups, the levels are not structured in a way that aligns itself with using multiple strategies. Often there is just one power-up needed for a particular section and it just feels bad/weird/frustrating to cycle through other power-ups. I think a hand of power-ups would be better - like a hand of five.
- Can't zoom out. At least if players had more time and space to plan where to put items. Some areas are off-screen and can't even be prepped for appropriately.
- No good checkpoint system with penalty of losing fireflies; there should be clear checkpoints and all fireflies saved up to the checkpoint should be secured

Remark: I was playing a little more to take some screenshots. Some of my complaints about and/or difficulties with the game do diminish with practice. However, it is unfortunate that the main game didn't take note of some of the bonus levels, which fed out power-ups in a less random fashion. Levels crafted around certain power-ups with those power-ups occurring in higher distribution would have made the game more skill-based and hence more enjoyable.

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Summary:
The game starts off alright, and with not so many power-ups the randomness is mildly annoying. However, as the game ramps up in difficulty, the randomness becomes frustrating and the game concept is ruined. I think playing through the main story is okay. Completing all the achievements would be manageable but collecting all the fireflies would be a grind.*

*There's no achievement for collecting all the fireflies (over 2000). There is an achievement for collecting 1500 fireflies.

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Lucidity (PC) (2009)

Relevant Links:
Lucidity (video game) (Wikipedia.org)
Lucidity (PC) (MetaCritic.com)
Lucidity (steamdb.info)
Lucidity (Steam Store Page)

The Misadventures of P.B. Winterbottom (PC) (2010)

Overview:
The Misadventures of P.B. Winterbottom is a puzzle platformer. Play as P.B. Winterbottom, a pie thief and collect all the pies in each level.

"The top left icon shows how many clones can exist at one time."

But that's only the beginning. Winterbottom must create recordings of himself in order to solve the different puzzles. While conceptually simple, puzzles require the player to use and interact with the recordings in a variety of ways. This includes jumping on top of them, hitting them, or having them hit you! For example, when the real Winterbottom is hit, he will be sent in an arc in front of him. When a recorded Winterbottom is hit, he will also be sent in an arc, but will cease his repeated animation.

[20150205 Assumed Entry Date][20190707 Edit]

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Recommendation:
Because Winterbottom is a puzzle platformer, the solutions often require a lot of trial-and-error. While I was able to put some thought and planning into each level, I found the levels were solved more quickly by trying to implement a single idea - rather than mulling over the perfect solution from square one.

In addition to the great gameplay, The Misadventures of P.B. Winterbottom also has a great story to it. In fact, it's told in rhyme!

Level 2.10

I personally also like the artwork and soundtrack, albeit simple.

Overall, if you're looking for a short* puzzle game and enjoy either platforming or trial-and-error, then you should look into playing The Misadventures of P.B. Winterbottom. In terms of its merit as a game, it shares many top qualities as the minimalist puzzle platformer Thomas Was Alone (PC) (2012) (though I like Thomas Was Alone much more).

*Chapter 1 took me about 15-20 minutes, Chapter 3 took me about 50 minutes, and Chapter 4 took me about 40 minutes. There are, however, challenges for additional gameplay.

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20101227:
I bought this game during the 2010 Steam Holiday Sale.

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20110103:
Judging from the Steam achievements, I played through the tutorial today ("Savory Salutations").
Steam Achievements
1:15pm Hot Pie Bottom
1:37pm Hungry Bottom

[20150205]

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20110112:
Steam Achievements
3:59pm Evil Bottom

Level 2.9

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20140112:
I was stuck on Level 2.9 for the longest time and I basically stopped playing this fun, addicting game because of it. While checking various game saves today, I shortly revisited the game and gave the level a go. I'm happy to report that I figured out the solution to the puzzle and couldn't believe how easy it was.

Solution to Level 2.9: Start a copy at Pie #4, jump to Pie #1, and then run over to Pie #3, end the copy. Thus, despite triggering a wall when the copy hits Pie #3, it can still collect Pie #4.

Chapter selection

Interesting Observation (Made on 20150205): I only played a single level today.

[20140112][20190707 Edit]

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20150205:
Not having played in a while, I decided to replay the tutorial (15-20 minutes). Well, it didn't start off that way. I had originally intended just to scope out the first level of it, but the game seamlessly took me from one level to the next, only stopping when the last level of the tutorial was complete.

Today in Level 3.6, I had trouble until I memorized a sequence of button presses: turn (left/right), record (shift), hit (Z). Just press each button once.

Level 3.9, like Level 2.9, required thinking out of the box. Although I was able to solve Level 3.9 much more easily than Level 2.9 (at least from what I recall of the frustration I had with Level 2.9).

Solution to Level 3.9: Record a copy that gets popped up and lands along the 1 3 2. Let him repeat that. While he does that, go over to 5 and begin a recording that goes from 5 to 6 to 7 and then (careful not to hit the see-saw) go over to the clone and after he collects 3, hit him so he collects 4 and end the recording. Your new recording will start and that will collect 5, 6, and 7.

Steam Achievements:
4:02am Ticking Bottom
4:53am Burnt Bottom
5:36am Soggy Bottom

Level 4.10

After completing the fourth chapter, I felt somewhat compelled to finish the fifth (and last) chapter of the story. However, I decided to save it for a rainy day.

[20150205][20190707 Edit]

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The Misadventures of P.B. Winterbottom (PC) (2010)

Relevant Links:
The Misadventures of P.B. Winterbottom
The Misadventures of P.B. Winterbottom (PC) (MetaCritic.com)
The Misadventures of P.B. Winterbottom (Wikipedia.org)