20120114:
The Dig is a point-and-click graphic adventure game. The game started off slow, but the became interesting as soon as the story became interesting.
Playing until I got stuck, I'm now at a point where I assume the four symbols depicted on the purple rod should be entered on one of the panels and thus opening a door. But there are several doors and the entry process is rather slow. I've tried entering the code on all the doors, but maybe they're in the wrong direction. However, I don't want to try entering them in the opposite direction at the moment, so I decided to save the game and stop playing.
On a Mac, I found that all the menu options are found in the menu bar at the top (where the toolbar options for any Mac application is found). From there press save and choose a file to save the game to. Just remember where you saved your game so that you can load it next time you play. The file is about 500 KB.
From what I can recall, the only other point-and-click graphic adventure games I've played are Loom (1990), Sam & Max Save the World Episode Four "Abe Lincoln Must Die" (2007), and, when I was a kid, Mixed-Up Mother Goose (1987). By recommendation, I also own other point-and-click graphic adventure games, but I have yet to play them.
So far, I don't enjoy The Dig as much as Loom or Sam & Max Season One Episode Four, but that might be a premature statement.
20240418 Snapshot:
Steam Game Time: 5.3 hours (cumulative game time) / 5h 16m (Playnite)
Last Played: 20140813
20240418:
Today I played the game from the beginning and I also got stuck at the same as above. One distinction is that I reasoned the order must be correct because of the orientation of the first shape. Otherwise, I also entered the code on all the doors to no avail. I did retrace my steps several times but rather than stop playing, I used a walkthrough on Steam to learn the next step. Apparently fixing the fallen lens is what's needed and to do so one needs to understand the control panel that's in that room. In my defense, the game developers made that puzzle extra difficult because they separated the button that activates the instructions on the control panel to a completely different panel.
I played until just a little after meeting back up with Maggie Robins in the "Library"; collected second rod in the "Museum"
Steam Game Time: 8.2 hours (cumulative game time) / 2.9 hours (session game time)
20240419:
Gameplay Log:
Realized that needing an extra person to open the door meant trying to resurrect Brink with the life crystals
Interestingly, not long after, Brink runs off
Steam Game Time: 9.4 hours (cumulative game time) / 1.2 hours (session game time)
20240420:
Gameplay Log:
Stuck.
Steam Game Time: 9.7 hours (cumulative game time) / 0.3 hours (session game time)
20240421 Comment:
As I was stuck, I looked at the same Steam guide walkthrough I looked at before. I learned that I need to unlock the light bridge. I decided, however, not to read how to do it. With that being said, I knew it had to do with the panel that's next to the Museum and sea monster.
At this point in the game, I would rate it a 3.0 out of 5. The game has a great story, but the puzzles are mostly terrible and moving around can be a pain.
Rating: 3.0/5
20240427:
Gameplay Log:
After a try, I decided to use the guide for the light bridge. Apparently what I was missing: hold the switch down.
However, apparently the light bridge seems, at least for now, to be a convenience for travel. It does not progress the story, so I read more of the walkthrough. Apparently, earlier in the game I reconstructed the bones, brought it to life, and then figured I need a way to poison it. The actual solution, however, requires using the canister, which is an explosive devise, with the reconstructed bones. Also, what I learned from the walkthrough that would have helped the first time I reconstructed the bones is that there is a fossil nearby showing the order of the parts. I had managed to reconstruct the bones without it.
I next got stuck at a puzzle with a small creature. Referring back to the walkthrough, I inadvertently read that after successfully crossing the water chasm, a bridge can be made from the other side by using the shovel. Though a relatively innocuous reveal.
In any case, the walkthrough referred to a dowel, which I did not have. I think one aspect that is stupid about this game is the number of long stick-like objects in the inventory and the number of holes in the game. It makes for puzzle solving such a pain. In any case, I eventually spotted the dowel but I wouldn't have found it if I hadn't read about it, because it blends in with the background.
Note that while reading the above, I inadvertently read about using the bracelet. I think, however, I would have figured that out as the player character makes a comment that hints at doing so.
I went to the airlock area and inserted the blue rod. Then all the crystals became lifeless.
While writing out entries to this Gameplay Log, I inadvertently read how to use the twin sceptres. Apparently they can be used on the faint light in the ceiling.
Reading further into the walkthrough, apparently the goal is to make all the crystals in the airlock area shine. They will shine when the rods are at the correct height (probably different heights for each crystal). [yes, different heights for each crystal]
After meeting Brink, I read the walkthrough to learn there was a stone plate across from a wilted tree. The walkthrough didn't say, but I inserted the blue crystal from early in the game to light up the room. However, nothing else seems to happen.
I revisit the walkthrough which talks about the other door. Throughout the game I kept trying to use the wire but apparently the wire can't be connected to anything. And according to the walkthrough the key is the tusk... Now... out of all the items... why the tusk?. Absolutely terrible puzzle. [apparently the tusk to open the panel, but why not the shovel?]
I decide to play around in the planetarian. I revisit the musuem to learn what the display there was saying about the moons. I managed to make progress and get trapped by the critter.
I read that the panel in the ruins looking area is unlocked with the code from the red engraved rod. I suppose trying all the sequences from all the rods would have been something I tried except it's such a slow process... [while looking for Maggie I tried code from another rod and it showed something; I guess each code will show something]
Up to this point, I've done several things right with the tomb. I learned from the walkthrough that now I can step on a panel on the floor in the tomb marked by two moons to open the shutter. However, to keep the panel depressed, I'll need the rod from the map spire. Seems like a random item to use though. Very poor puzzle in regards to the item that provides the solution.
Once the panel is being held down, the walkthrough informed me to go back outside.
Apparently (I learned from the walkthrough after wandering aimlessly looking for Maggie) that there's an area called the nest to the left of the cavern (in the map spire)... I hate how it's not obvious that that's a direction to go
So I went to the beach and there was new dialogue now that Maggie was with Low. However, I tried a few items with the light and nothing seemed to work. The walkthrough informed that the player needs to show Maggie the tablet
Too lazy to walk around and figure out the missing piece I looked at the walkthrough. It said to talk to the inventor.
I sort of tried looking for the place shown in the panel of the map but after some wandering I decided to read it in the walkthrough.
So there's a monster on the light bridge and I tried to turn the bridge off but it didn't seem to work. I read the walkthrough and it just said what I already tried. So I tried again but this time I quickly turned it off after the monster left and that did the trick
Steam Game Time: 15.5 hours (cumulative game time) / 5.8 hours (session game time)
The Dig (PC) (1995)
Relevant Links:
The Dig (Wikipedia.org)
The Dig (Steam Store Page)
Saturday, January 14, 2012
Sunday, January 1, 2012
Defense Grid: The Awakening (PC) (2008)
Overview: Defense Grid: The Awakening is a traditional tower defense game. With the help of a computer, set up towers and protect your power core from being stolen by enemy aliens.
Recommendation:
Defense Grid is a fun tower defense game, has great visuals, and has an approachable learning curve (mechanics are introduced to the player one at a time, level by level).
In addition to story mode, each level has several challenges to accomplish which adds a lot of replayability.
If you enjoy tower defense games, then this is one to check out.
(A sequel was released in September 2014, but I do not own it.)
20120101:
Steam Achievements Earned:
3:46am First Blood
3:47am Hey! That's mine!
3:47am Happy Returns
3:49am Field Promotion
3:50am Leadhead
3:57am Eradicator
3:58am I Spy
3:58am Surplus
4:00am Burn Baby Burn
4:04am Confident
4:05am Flawless Victory
4:20am Yellow Beats Green
4:23am Salvage Rights
4:24am Arsenal
4:27am Penny Pincher
4:27am Boot Camp
4:38am Pew Pew
4:39am Head Trauma
4:46am What IS that?
4:48am Exterminator
5:00am Close Call
5:00am Filthy Rich
5:03am Great Ball of Fire
5:32am High Voltage
5:38am Overseer
5:40am Not So Fast
5:44am Kaboom!
Apparently, no Steam achievements were obtained between 20120101 and 20140105.
[20150215]
20140105:
Steam Achievements Earned:
7:16pm Liquidator
7:52pm No Sale
Story Mode:
- In the first level, "The Awakening," the player only gets to build the Gun tower.
- In the second level, "Assessing the Threat," the player also gets to build the Inferno tower. In this level, a player is told that enemies may have different weaknesses and that its important to pay attention to each tower's range.
- In the third level, "Ancient Research," the player gets to build the powerful Laser tower. Also learned is the ability to upgrade a tower.
- In the fourth level, "The Long Descent," the player acquires the ability to build the Temporal tower. It slows enemies down.
: I made the mistake of building a Temporal tower too early. I would have had better chances if I had built two or three offensive towers first.
- In the fifth level, "Out of Fuel," the player gets the Meteor tower, which has low accuracy, but extraordinary range and power. About halfway into the level, the player also gets to make secondary upgrades.
: I thought the enemies come from the bottom, but they actually come from the top and leave through the bottom.
: Also, it turns out the range of the Meteor tower is much larger than that of the indicator.
20240201 Snapshot:
Steam Game Time: 7.4 hours (cumulative game time) / 7h 22m (Playnite)
Last Played: 20140105
20240204:
Today I played through the first six levels. While I had already completed the first four or so levels, I found it helpful to go through the first few levels to relearn mechanics. And, in fact, the game does slowly ease the player into gameplay by slowly revealing more pieces of the game with each level (e.g., new towers, ability to upgrade towers, ability to see upcoming waves, fast forwarding time, etc.).
In any case, I find it interesting that I passed my previous progress in the game, and yet I previously logged 7.4 hours with the game. I suspect, like with other games I've played focused on getting high scores, e.g., Gratuitious Space Battles or The Adventures of Shuggy or Bridge Constructor Playground, I was more sidetracked by trying to get a better score on a single level than simply trying to beat the campaign. Reflecting, I now find it better to go through a campaign and build up general strategies before trying to get better at one level before moving on. With that being said, I'm still improving on this.*
Note that in order to get the gold medal, the player typically has to retain all 24 cores and use as few resources as possible. However, if my observation is correct, the player also passively gains resources at a rate corresponding to the number of cores. That is, if some cores are stolen, the rate of passive resource gain is reduced until the cores are returned. Thus, early investment into towers to prevent cores being taken is good, but ultimately only spending enough resources to just get by on not having any cores taken. As an example, if the scores target is 55000, since 48000 comes from the 24 cores, the target in resource gain plus tower value is 7000.
Remark: with respect to mission 6, red cannon is strong. The power of a red tower is probably something I underestimated
Steam Game Time: 9.9 hours (cumulative game time) / 2.5 hours (session game time)
*The game which I've spent a lot of time with and that has helped with recognizing this skill is Path of Exile. In Path of Exile, there are many distractions which I get caught up with. And as I repeatedly watch streamers play and give their tips, I slowly try and break those distractions, but
20240205:
Continuing with the story, I completed the next five levels. Taking advantage of checkpoints, I also manage to get the gold medal for each of these five levels.
Steam Game Time: 14.2 hours (cumulative game time) / 4.3 hours (session game time)
20240207:
Played the next three levels ("Guardian's Fall," "Center of Power," and "Standing Order"). I had also started the next level (the fifteenth level) but after getting a feel for it I decided it was better to end playing for the night.
Steam Game Time: 16.8 hours (cumulative game time) / 2.6 hours (session game time)
20240208:
Today I knocked out two more levels (the fifteenth and sixteeth level). At the current rate, I would beat the story mode in 4 more hours, and I would need another hour or so to get Gold medal on some of the earlier levels.
Steam Game Time: 18.8 hours (cumulative game time) / 2.0 hours (session game time)
Thoughts:
Pros:
+ main game has twenty levels with many challenges
+ I like the narration / voiceovers
+ solid tower defense mechanics and options
+ decent graphics; can zoom in on action
+ gradual introduction to new mechancis (via the story mode)
Neutral:
~ there's something of a story, mainly in the form of short sentences at the start of each level
Minor Con:
- two of the towers have a deadzone inside their radius, but this deadzone is not indicated by the range indicator
Rating: 4.2 out of 5
20240210:
Gameplay Log:
Today I finished the last four levels of the story mode. 24.0 hours (cumulative game time). The third, fourth, sixth, and seventeenth levels are missing Gold Medals.
Tried to get a Gold Medal for the third level and I couldn't. I tried several tiems.
I got the Gold Medal for the fourth level.
Steam Game Time: 25.3 hours (cumulative game time) / 6.5 hours (session game time)
20240223:
I went into the game thinking I would give the third level a short try and move on but I couldn't get it and kept trying. After many unsuccessful iterations, I decided to call it a night. And in my frustration, I had decided to watch a guide. Without any spoilers here, the main difference between my current strategy and the video solution is that I was being too conservative (not letting cores be taken), but the amount of resources generated by allowing cores to be taken but using less resources is apparently a much better strategy.
Steam Game Time: 27.4 hours (cumulative game time) / 2.1 hours (session game time)
20240224:
Gameplay Log:
Having watched a solution, I was able to get a Gold Medal for the third level (without having to copy the solution I had saw exactly; but definitely heavily inspired by what I had seen)
Got Gold Medal for the sixth medal
Got Gold Medal for the seventeenth level. First I refined a setup in the Practice mission. This was convenient to have basically unlimited resources to test a theoretical setup. I tried to execute this in the Story mode and it evolved into a solution that made use of some juggling. Theoretically with juggling then I wouldn't even have to upgrade various towers, but that's kind of boring and more for shooting for top ranks. In any case, with this that completes all the Gold Medals for the story mode (which is an achievement; I also simultaneously unlocked the Silver Medal achievement).
Started knocking out some challenge missions
Steam Game Time: 33.7 hours (cumulative game time) / 6.3 hours (session game time)
Defense Grid: The Awakening (PC) (2008)
Relevant Links:
Defense Grid: The Awakening Webpage (Hidden Path Entertainment)
Defense Grid: The Awakening (WIkipedia.org)
Defense Grid: The Awakening (PC) (MetaCritic.com)
 |
| Zoom out for a broad overview. |
Recommendation:
Defense Grid is a fun tower defense game, has great visuals, and has an approachable learning curve (mechanics are introduced to the player one at a time, level by level).
In addition to story mode, each level has several challenges to accomplish which adds a lot of replayability.
If you enjoy tower defense games, then this is one to check out.
(A sequel was released in September 2014, but I do not own it.)
 |
| Click on enemies for detailed statistics. |
20120101:
Steam Achievements Earned:
3:46am First Blood
3:47am Hey! That's mine!
3:47am Happy Returns
3:49am Field Promotion
3:50am Leadhead
3:57am Eradicator
3:58am I Spy
3:58am Surplus
 |
| Keep the aliens from stealing your cores! |
4:00am Burn Baby Burn
4:04am Confident
4:05am Flawless Victory
4:20am Yellow Beats Green
4:23am Salvage Rights
4:24am Arsenal
4:27am Penny Pincher
4:27am Boot Camp
4:38am Pew Pew
4:39am Head Trauma
 |
| This Crasher is "slow, but very tough" and he's stolen three of my cores! |
4:46am What IS that?
4:48am Exterminator
5:00am Close Call
5:00am Filthy Rich
5:03am Great Ball of Fire
5:32am High Voltage
5:38am Overseer
5:40am Not So Fast
5:44am Kaboom!
Apparently, no Steam achievements were obtained between 20120101 and 20140105.
 |
| Several aliens will have successfully left with some of my cores. |
[20150215]
20140105:
Steam Achievements Earned:
7:16pm Liquidator
7:52pm No Sale
Story Mode:
- In the first level, "The Awakening," the player only gets to build the Gun tower.
- In the second level, "Assessing the Threat," the player also gets to build the Inferno tower. In this level, a player is told that enemies may have different weaknesses and that its important to pay attention to each tower's range.
 |
| I don't think I'm gonna make it! |
- In the third level, "Ancient Research," the player gets to build the powerful Laser tower. Also learned is the ability to upgrade a tower.
- In the fourth level, "The Long Descent," the player acquires the ability to build the Temporal tower. It slows enemies down.
: I made the mistake of building a Temporal tower too early. I would have had better chances if I had built two or three offensive towers first.
 |
| They have shields? No fair! |
- In the fifth level, "Out of Fuel," the player gets the Meteor tower, which has low accuracy, but extraordinary range and power. About halfway into the level, the player also gets to make secondary upgrades.
: I thought the enemies come from the bottom, but they actually come from the top and leave through the bottom.
: Also, it turns out the range of the Meteor tower is much larger than that of the indicator.
20240201 Snapshot:
Steam Game Time: 7.4 hours (cumulative game time) / 7h 22m (Playnite)
Last Played: 20140105
20240204:
Today I played through the first six levels. While I had already completed the first four or so levels, I found it helpful to go through the first few levels to relearn mechanics. And, in fact, the game does slowly ease the player into gameplay by slowly revealing more pieces of the game with each level (e.g., new towers, ability to upgrade towers, ability to see upcoming waves, fast forwarding time, etc.).
In any case, I find it interesting that I passed my previous progress in the game, and yet I previously logged 7.4 hours with the game. I suspect, like with other games I've played focused on getting high scores, e.g., Gratuitious Space Battles or The Adventures of Shuggy or Bridge Constructor Playground, I was more sidetracked by trying to get a better score on a single level than simply trying to beat the campaign. Reflecting, I now find it better to go through a campaign and build up general strategies before trying to get better at one level before moving on. With that being said, I'm still improving on this.*
Note that in order to get the gold medal, the player typically has to retain all 24 cores and use as few resources as possible. However, if my observation is correct, the player also passively gains resources at a rate corresponding to the number of cores. That is, if some cores are stolen, the rate of passive resource gain is reduced until the cores are returned. Thus, early investment into towers to prevent cores being taken is good, but ultimately only spending enough resources to just get by on not having any cores taken. As an example, if the scores target is 55000, since 48000 comes from the 24 cores, the target in resource gain plus tower value is 7000.
Remark: with respect to mission 6, red cannon is strong. The power of a red tower is probably something I underestimated
Steam Game Time: 9.9 hours (cumulative game time) / 2.5 hours (session game time)
*The game which I've spent a lot of time with and that has helped with recognizing this skill is Path of Exile. In Path of Exile, there are many distractions which I get caught up with. And as I repeatedly watch streamers play and give their tips, I slowly try and break those distractions, but
20240205:
Continuing with the story, I completed the next five levels. Taking advantage of checkpoints, I also manage to get the gold medal for each of these five levels.
Steam Game Time: 14.2 hours (cumulative game time) / 4.3 hours (session game time)
20240207:
Played the next three levels ("Guardian's Fall," "Center of Power," and "Standing Order"). I had also started the next level (the fifteenth level) but after getting a feel for it I decided it was better to end playing for the night.
Steam Game Time: 16.8 hours (cumulative game time) / 2.6 hours (session game time)
20240208:
Today I knocked out two more levels (the fifteenth and sixteeth level). At the current rate, I would beat the story mode in 4 more hours, and I would need another hour or so to get Gold medal on some of the earlier levels.
Steam Game Time: 18.8 hours (cumulative game time) / 2.0 hours (session game time)
Thoughts:
Pros:
+ main game has twenty levels with many challenges
+ I like the narration / voiceovers
+ solid tower defense mechanics and options
+ decent graphics; can zoom in on action
+ gradual introduction to new mechancis (via the story mode)
Neutral:
~ there's something of a story, mainly in the form of short sentences at the start of each level
Minor Con:
- two of the towers have a deadzone inside their radius, but this deadzone is not indicated by the range indicator
Rating: 4.2 out of 5
20240210:
Gameplay Log:
Today I finished the last four levels of the story mode. 24.0 hours (cumulative game time). The third, fourth, sixth, and seventeenth levels are missing Gold Medals.
Tried to get a Gold Medal for the third level and I couldn't. I tried several tiems.
I got the Gold Medal for the fourth level.
Steam Game Time: 25.3 hours (cumulative game time) / 6.5 hours (session game time)
20240223:
I went into the game thinking I would give the third level a short try and move on but I couldn't get it and kept trying. After many unsuccessful iterations, I decided to call it a night. And in my frustration, I had decided to watch a guide. Without any spoilers here, the main difference between my current strategy and the video solution is that I was being too conservative (not letting cores be taken), but the amount of resources generated by allowing cores to be taken but using less resources is apparently a much better strategy.
Steam Game Time: 27.4 hours (cumulative game time) / 2.1 hours (session game time)
20240224:
Gameplay Log:
Having watched a solution, I was able to get a Gold Medal for the third level (without having to copy the solution I had saw exactly; but definitely heavily inspired by what I had seen)
Got Gold Medal for the sixth medal
Got Gold Medal for the seventeenth level. First I refined a setup in the Practice mission. This was convenient to have basically unlimited resources to test a theoretical setup. I tried to execute this in the Story mode and it evolved into a solution that made use of some juggling. Theoretically with juggling then I wouldn't even have to upgrade various towers, but that's kind of boring and more for shooting for top ranks. In any case, with this that completes all the Gold Medals for the story mode (which is an achievement; I also simultaneously unlocked the Silver Medal achievement).
Started knocking out some challenge missions
Steam Game Time: 33.7 hours (cumulative game time) / 6.3 hours (session game time)
Defense Grid: The Awakening (PC) (2008)
 |
| Zoom in on the action. |
Relevant Links:
Defense Grid: The Awakening Webpage (Hidden Path Entertainment)
Defense Grid: The Awakening (WIkipedia.org)
Defense Grid: The Awakening (PC) (MetaCritic.com)